OSHA, AIHA renew alliance

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extended its alliance with the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) for two additional years, saying the collaborative relationship and the continued progress being made are too important to bring to an end.

Since the alliance’s inception in October 2002, OSHA and AIHA have worked closely together on many fronts to reach goals set in the agreement. Three OSHA staffers are participating as ad hoc members on AIHA’s Ergonomics Committee to facilitate communication between the two organizations and to address and jointly resolve any ergonomic-related issues. OSHA’s Educational Centers now have contacts with AIHA regional chapters so the centers can obtain training information and safety instructors.

AIHA has added links from its Web site to OSHA’s alliance and ergonomics Web pages, and the association is participating on more than 12 editorial boards for OSHA’s safety and health topics pages, including the issues related to confined spaces, noise, emergency response, and sampling and analysis.

AIHA is working with other alliance participants, including the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and the American Academy of Occupational Surgeons (AAOS), to form a work group to discuss musculoskeletal disorder issues.

A major priority for the renewal is to find ways to help OSHA educate its staff about safety and health professional certifications and to work with other alliance participants to develop the business case for safety and health. Another issue that may be on the alliance’s agenda this year is emergency preparedness.