OSHA, Holder Construction Group partner for safety at northeastern Illinois data center construction site

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Holder Construction Group LLC

Partnership: The strategic partnership will protect and educate workers on construction hazards during the building of the DuPont CH3 Data Center project in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

The partnership was developed jointly by OSHA and general contractor Holder Construction Group as well as by the state’s Labor Department On-site Safety and Health Consultation and several local unions. They include Plumbers Local Union 130; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134; United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners Local 839; Laborers International Union of North America Local 118; Pipefitters Local Union 597; International Association of Iron Workers Local 1; International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, and International Association of Sheet Metal Workers Local 73.

The partnership will:

• Develop effective safety and health training programs and procedures.
• Identify common construction hazards such as falls, electrical, struck-by, caught-in, silica, carbon monoxide, heat stress, cranes and noise.
• Encourage worker participation in employer safety and health programs.
• Ensure 100 percent of contractors and subcontractors have site-specific written safety and health programs. 
• Require each employee to attend a job site safety orientation before working on the site.

The DuPont CH3 project consists of a 317,000-square-foot data center. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2017. During construction, up to 30 subcontractors with 300 tradesmen may be employed on-site.

Duration: The agreement terminates on Dec. 1, 2017, or when construction is completed, if that occurs sooner.

Background: Through its Strategic Partnership Program, OSHA works with employers, employees, professional and trade associations, labor organizations and other interested stakeholders to establish specific goals, strategies and performance measures to improve worker safety and health. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/partnerships/index.html.

Quote: “Our focus is to forge a working relationship that will prevent serious workplace construction hazards and establish a foundation for the development of effective safety and health program at the sites,” said Angeline Loftus, OSHA’s area director for the Chicago North Office in Des Plaines. “In order to support jobs and job growth in America employers must provide safe workplaces.”