OSHA/Air Transport Section’s Ergonomic Alliance for Baggage Handling National Safety Congress Wednesday, September 10, :00 a.m.

OSHA/Airline Industry Alliance History -OSHA Alliance Program -Forming the Airline Industry Alliance Lee Anne Jillings Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA’s Strategic Management Plan, By 2008, reduce fatality rates 15% and injury/illness rates 20% through: Goal 1 – Reduce occupational hazards through direct intervention Goal 2 – Promote safety and health culture through compliance assistance, cooperative programs, and strong leadership Goal 3 – Strengthen agency capabilities and infrastructure

Goal 2: Compliance Assistance, Cooperative Programs & Leadership Promote a safety and health culture through compliance assistance, cooperative programs and strong leadership. Strategy 2-1:Improve OSHA’s ability to capture opportunities where compliance assistance, leadership, outreach, and cooperative programs will maximize impact. Strategy 2-2: Promote a safety and health culture through America’s worksites. Strategy 2-3:Improve the effectiveness of OSHA’s approaches for promoting safety and health.

OSHA’s Alliance Program Broadly Written Agreements Established at OSHA’s National, Regional, Area Offices or by State Plan States Goals focus on: –Training and Education –Outreach and Communication –Promoting the National Dialogue  Customized Implementation Teams  Two-years, Renewable  Quarterly Update Meetings or Conference Calls

Benefits of an Alliance Build a cooperative and trusting relationship with OSHA Network with other organizations committed to workplace safety and health Leverage resources to maximize worker protection

National Alliances Signed The Dow Chemical Alliance Company American Biological Safety Association Society of the Plastics Industry The Printing Industry Recent/Upcoming International Safety Equipment Association National Safety Council Network of Employers for Traffic Safety Work Zone Coalition for Safety and Health

Airline Industry Alliance Members American Airlines American Trans Air America West Airlines Continental Airlines Delta Air Lines Jetblue Airways Midwest Express Airlines Southwest Airlines United Airlines US Airways NSC International Air Transport Section Air Canada Airtran Airways Alaska Airlines

Airline Industry Alliance Vision Year 1 Define strategy and best practices Educate and communicate process with interested parties Share successes with others - NSC Congress -VPP Seminar

Airline Industry Alliance Vision Year 2 Reaffirm membership Review past year and identify specific projects and goals for upcoming year Communicate with and educate interested parties Expand awareness of the Alliance world-wide

Alliance Action Items Training and Education Develop a baggage handling training manual for employees Outreach and Communication Review and provide input on way to improve OSHA’s e-tool Develop Safety and Health Topics Page for the Airlines Industry Hold a one-day seminar on OSHA’s VPP process -June 4, 2003, Delta Airlines, Atlanta, Georgia Sponsor a workshop on the Alliance Program -National Safety Council Congress, September 10, 2002, Chicago, IL -Review the Alliance’s first year for OSHA’s National Office Promote the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety & Health Educate interested parties on the ergonomics of baggage handling

Alliance Timeline – Year 1 December 18, Kick-off Meeting – OSHA, Washington, DC January 27 & 28, Workshop – OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center, Salt Lake City, UT April 28 & 29, Workshop – OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center, Salt Lake City, UT June 4, VPP Presentation – Delta Airlines, Atlanta, Georgia September 10, NSC Presentation/Panel Discussion – National Safety Council Congress, Chicago, IL October Group Performance Appraisal

OSHA/Airline Industry Alliance VPP Seminar Jim Swartz Delta Air Lines

OSHA Programs What is an OSHA Alliance? Program created by OSHA to enable organizations committed to safety and health to collaborate with OSHA to prevent injuries. Partnerships VPPAlliance

VPP Workshop Who? –16 Airlines and Labor Groups –4 Airline Servicing Companies –3 Government Agencies –4 Other Private Industries –3 National Associations UAL, IAMAW Alliance Members COMAIR, Skywest, Northwest, ASA LSG SkyChefs, ARAMARK, ITS Aviation, GAT Airline Ground Support Corporate Performance Solutions, Marsh, Tropicanna, Georgetown University VPPPA, NATA, NSC Federal OSHA, State OSHA, TSA

VPP Workshop When and When? –Delta Air Lines “Star” Status Maintenance Facility –June 4, 2003

VPP Workshop Why VPP? What is VPP? – National VPP/Alliance Overview How VPP? – Application/Evaluation Process Overview – Delta VPP Team Process Overview – Mentoring Process Overview Benefits of VPP – VPPPA

VPP Workshop Why? –Relate VPP to Aviation Industry –Share Employee Driven Process –Establish Network for Outreach

OSHA/Airline Industry Alliance The Experience Holly Geiger Zimmerman Alaska Airlines

Industry Apprehension Some airlines may have feared: Alliance will result in more frequent inspections; Federal & State OSHA inspectors would use Alliance information and work products inconsistently in the enforcement actions; or One size does not fit all: each airline sees their business characteristics as unique

Traditional OSHA-Industry Perceptions Industry personnel may have perceived OSHA as: -non-collaborative -rule focused, not solution-oriented During inspections/investigations, boundaries maintained, information flow is restricted Inspections may only scratch the surface: -visual observations -written program review OSHA personnel not always familiar with industry- specific challenges that influence compliance capabilities

Planned Approach To ensure individual airline Planeside Loading support and continued participation, the Alliance parameters were set: –Specific goals –One-year timeline for completion of work products

Airline Participation All signatories on the Alliance sent representation to the meetings; Meetings were conducted efficiently and at convenient times/locations; Open sharing of best practices between airlines to familiarize OSHA with existing efforts; Participants were open-minded to recommendations; Resulted in immediate changes to and development of resources

OSHA Participation OSHA representatives dedicated many hours to Alliance implementation; OSHA representatives were considerate of inherent industry challenges; OSHA actively participated at all meetings including hosting airline members at SLC Technical Training Center and planning and presenting at the VPP Seminar; Recommendations for changes were realistic (economically/technologically feasible) and received well by airline representatives

OSHA/Airline Industry Alliance eTool Ashley West Delta Air Lines

eTool Updates Terminology updated to fit the Airline Industry -Original eTool was more based on the manufacturing environment -Terminology was mutually agreed upon by Alliance members eTool format follows the process flow of airport -Now divided into three sections (Check-In, Make-Up Room, Ramp) instead of four (Check-in, Bag Cart, Loading Conveyor, Bag Compartment) -Dimensions of aircraft bins and equipment are now included

eTool Updates Within the process flow, hazards are listed by level of automation and type of equipment utilized -Original eTool listed hazards inconsistently from the front-line employees’ perspective -Hazards are now listed by type of handling device (manual, semi-automated, automated), type of conveyor system (flat plate carousel, sloped carousel, double pier belts), and type of cart/container

eTool Updates Possible solutions are now listed according to feasibility of implementation -Original eTool possible solutions required consideration of limitations placed on airlines by: TSA Airport authorities FAA Equipment (ground support and aircraft type) Operation -Possible solutions (administrative, work practice and engineering) are now listed based on operational and economical feasibility

Progress Ramp Section published July 2003 Ticket Counter and Make-Up Room Sections to be published September 2003 eTool will be reviewed and updated annually per OSHA process and Alliance objective

Benefits for Airlines Better understanding of the different processes within each company Better understanding of OSHA’s approach Documented solutions to support and validate projects within each company Sharing of ergonomics best practices among airlines

OSHA/Airline Industry Alliance Baggage Handling Training Manual Penny Prince American Airlines

Areas of Concern Injuries associated with baggage handling are the most prevalent injury for the aviation industry Use of engineering controls is limited at this time due to technical and economic feasibility The aviation industry does not have consistent training for best methods in baggage handling

Purpose Cost effective and consistent training materials Training that is most applicable to essential job functions Training that is in the most usable format

Areas of Focus The largest # of injuries and employees -baggage handling on the ramp The type of injury with greatest concern -musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) Top priority for all participating airlines -planeside loading and unloading

Training Content Injury Prevention – Contributing Risk Factors for MSDs Safe Work Practices – Principles of Body Mechanics – Stretches and Exercise The Baggage Handling Process – Proper Body Mechanics (task specific)

Functions to be Analyzed Skycap Ticket Counter Gate Check-in Baggage Make-up (T-point) Planeside Loading and Unloading Aircraft Cargo Compartments Baggage Claim

Extended Reaching (unloading cart without shelf) Brace oneself with an arm or leg Slide load or pull load close to body before lifting Stay in control of the load

Twisting while Lifting (unloading cart with shelf) Angle cart to reduce degree of turn Keep load directly in front of body Step into the turn when turning body

One-handed Lifting (loading cart with shelf) Use two-handed lift whenever possible Keep load at waist height Avoid lifting bags by handles

OSHA/Airline Industry Alliance Future of the Alliance Barry Brown Southwest Airlines

Continue Work on Current Initiatives eTool –continuous review & update –add job functions Baggage Handling Training Manual –further development of function specific training –expand to include other aviation-related operations Interested Parties Process

Initiatives Being Considered for 2004 Airport Facilities Communication Public/Customer Education NATA/International Outreach OSHA Alliance Website Enhancement

Acknowledgements John AndrusSouthwest Bob CurtisOSHA Kristi DearingOSHA Brently DonaldsonOSHA Greg GeorgeOSHA Ann GilesAirTran Travis HannanOSHA Dee HinckleyJetBlue Lee Anne JillingsOSHA Cindy KeiserContinental Richard LindsayAmerican Airlines Ray McClearyUS Airways Kim McDanielSouthwest Richard PetriatisUnited Penny PrinceAmerican Airlines Tim RacicotContinental Lisa RamberOSHA Christopher San GiovanniJetBlue Hillary SchneiderUnited Kevin SummerlinContinental Jim SwartzDelta Air Lines Debra VujasinUS Airways Terri WeilandMidwest Express Ashley WestDelta Air Lines Bill WrightOSHA Holly ZimmermanAlaska Airlines