APCA Safety Committee Meeting

February 28, 2019

Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental

Houston, Texas

1. Welcome

Committee Chair Ron Oakley, Sunland Construction, welcomed attendees and shared information on the location of the room's emergency exits and where everyone should meet in case of an emergency.

The following representatives from APCA-member companies were in attendance:

2. APCA Executive's Opening Comments

APCA Board member Ricky Dyess thanked attendees for coming to the Safety Committee meeting and for their involvement. He said that the APCA Board strongly supports the committee's efforts. He feels that the open-shop side of the pipeline industry has been lagging behind in promoting itself and that safety provides a great opportunity to get our message out. He said that the Best Practices put together by this committee are used industry-wide, including by INGAA in many of their safety materials. He also reported that the APCA Board is looking at developing an operator-assessment program and will be meeting with a company at the upcoming APCA Convention to discuss the program.

3. Safety Moments

Being a foggy day in Houston, the group discussed driving safety and the importance of focusing on driving rather than holding conversations or messing with one's phone. One attendee compared driving to aviation, saying that drivers should use checklists to get into the mindset of a pilot. Another attendee had a recommendation for alleviating tripping hazards around the house at night or early morning: little LED lights.

4. Introductions

All participants introduced themselves and shared their company name, years in the industry, and something good that had recently happened to them or their family.

5. OSHA Alliance Meetings

Ron Oakley reported that the next OSHA Alliance event is April 4, 2019, in Washington, D.C., and an APCA-OSHA Alliance teleconference is scheduled for April 17, 2019. Oakley will attend the April 4 meeting.

6. Best Practices Review and Update on Assignments

Ron Oakley updated the committee on the Best Practices review process that was begun at the last meeting. In November, committee members volunteered for specific Best Practices to review and update. Oakley said that most people had returned their sections and that some were combined. There are still a few outstanding. The completed Best Practices will be posted for committee members to review before the May 9 Safety Committee meeting. If anyone sees an issue in one of the documents, alert the committee and it will be discussed in May. Oakley said that one topic was added to the list, Heat-related Illness, and since he was already reviewing the Cold Weather document, he took on the new topic. After the committee approves the Best Practices in May, they will be sent to OSHA for their review.

7. Develop New Best Practices

It was suggested that the committee develop Best Practices for vacuum excavation because most everyone is doing it. Jim Roberts from Pumpco volunteered to create a draft on vacuum excavation. It was noted that fatigued driving is a big deal in the pipeline industry and a major problem across all industries. Mark Beisecker of Cobbs Allen agreed to create draft Best Practices for Fatigued Driving. The committee discussed adding the topic of General Vehicle Safety, maybe taking the Distracted Driving Best Practices and adding Fatigued Driving and General Vehicle Safety. It was noted that it might make the document too long. Miles Hester, Progressive Pipeline, will draft Driver Best Practices, and Ron Oakley will look at them to see if it works better as one document or two. Oakley will also create draft Best Practices for Job Safety Analysis. Once the committee approves the Best Practices, Jose Ruiz of Sunland Construction will translate them into Spanish.

8. Common New-Hire Orientation for APCA Members

The group continued its discussion on the possibility of creating a common new-hire orientation for APCA members. Staff had been tasked with researching the cost of a video and learned that we need much more information to get a useful estimate, including length of video, number of days of shooting, how audio would be handled, and where the video would be shot. Committee members had a variety of ideas and opinions on those subjects. It was asked if Caterpillar's safety orientation video might be publically available. This is a subject to be taken up at the APCA Board level to determine if there is actually a need among contractor members and if there is a budget for it.

9. Lessons Learned Repository on APCA Safety Zone Site

The committee continued its discussion about creating a repository of safety-related lessons learned on the Safety Zone section of the APCA website, similar to what the INGAA Foundation does on its website. The submissions would be anonymous and reviewed by the subcommittee of the Safety Committee before being posted. APCA members would receive an email alert when new lessons learned become available. It was asked if APCA lawyers should be consulted. This is another subject to be taken up at the APCA Board level to determine if there is actually a need among contractor members and if there is a budget for it.

10. Creating a Merit-Shop Safety Message

Moving along its goal of creating a safety message to promote the safety accomplishments of the merit-shop pipeline industry, the committee tabbed John Lohman of Sterling to lead the effort to plan the message, create a draft message, and explore best methods for delivering the message. Cobbs Allen's Mark Beisecker will work with him. They were also tasked with creating the form/survey that will go out to APCA contractor members to collect safety data. The message will ultimately be delivered at client meetings, safety seminars, etc.

11. Guest Speakers for Future Quarterly Meetings

Looking to add value to APCA's quarterly safety meetings, the committee further discussed possible guest speakers and topics. The committee was interested in hearing from a speaker from U.S. Industrial Certifications who does strength testing for chains, slings, etc., and Clint Wilson, WHC Energy Services, said he will look into getting him for the May 9 meeting. Attendees were also interested in a speaker on cognitive behavior, which we will try to schedule for the August 15 meeting. Jose Ruiz, Sunland, said he would look into a speaker from VeriForce on operator qualification, and Todd Johnson, Strike LLC, said he would look into a speaker on DOT trucking regulations.

12. Next APCA Safety Committee Meeting - May 9

The committee will meet next on May 9, 2019, at the Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, Texas. The Q3 meeting is on August 15, and Q4 is on November 7 at the same hotel. Ron Oakley said that next year's dates will closely mirror this year's, still on Thursdays and at the same hotel.

APCA Safety Committee Meeting

November 8, 2018

Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental

Houston, Texas

1. Welcome

Committee Chair Ron Oakley, Sunland Construction, welcomed attendees and said he was happy to see so many people at the meeting. This hotel – the Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental – will be our meeting place going forward.

The following representatives from APCA-member companies were in attendance:

2. Safety Moments

Oakley reviewed the procedures for an emergency evacuation during the meeting, including nearest exits, a meeting place outside, and who should have to attendee list so we can account for everyone.

During introductions, Laris Nolan, Bluewater Constructors, offered a poignant safety moment from a fatal car wreck he had witnessed a week earlier. He assisted the victim and the first responders and was moved by the experience: "It tore me up." Laris' story underscored the importance of safety efforts, and he urged everyone to "think about what you're doing."

3. APCA Executives' Opening Comments

APCA Board member Nick Bruno, Bi-Con Services, thanked attendees for coming. He knows everyone is busy and appreciates their participation. He said the committee's challenge is to pave a safety path for merit-shop contractors, and he noted the importance of developing and sharing best practices and on-boarding new employees. He encouraged everyone to speak up during committee meetings; participation is how you get value.

APCA President-Elect Mike Castle, Progressive Pipeline, thanked attendees for volunteering their time and for their leadership on safety: "It says something about you and about your company." He echoed Bruno's comments on speaking up and being involved.

4. Introductions

All participants introduced themselves and shared their company name, years in the industry, and something good that had recently happened to them or their family.

5. OSHA Update

OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist Jim Shelton discussed a variety of safety topics with the group, including the recently issued final crane rule, rate-based incentives, drug testing, a new emphasis on ammonium nitrate, and the agency's big push on trenching & excavation safety (if a compliance officer drives by a jobsite with an open trench, they are required to stop and take a look).

6. OSHA Alliance Meetings

Committee Co-chair Miles Hester, Progressive Pipeline, reported on an OSHA Alliance meeting that he attended in September and on the APCA Mid-Year Meeting in October. The next OSHA Alliance event is April 4, 2019, in Washington, D.C., and an APCA-OSHA Alliance teleconference is scheduled for April 17, 2019.

7. Common New-Hire Orientation for APCA Members

The group discussed the possibility of creating a common new-hire orientation for APCA members. Ron Oakley said he envisioned something that takes less than an hour, explains APCA's safety philosophy, and covers the basics. The group discussed what their companies do (most companies use one day for orientation, though at least one uses four days), the various companies that can handle orientation training (SafeLand USA, Safe Construction Consulting, PEC Safety, Cat), and what owners require (most require their orientation video). Question: is there a need among members? They discussed costs (one company said $2,000/minute of used video) and asked PCCA staff to look into how much a video would cost.

8. Lessons-Learned Repository

The committee discussed creating a repository of safety-related lessons learned on the Safety Zone section of the APCA website, similar to what the INGAA Foundation does on its website. The submissions would be anonymous and reviewed by the Safety Committee (or a smaller subcommittee) before being posted. APCA members would receive an email alert when new lessons learned become available. Question: would APCA members use it? The group discussed the INGAA Foundation effort, how often they use it (not a lot), and whether APCA could piggyback on their efforts (probably not). It was noted that contractors' clients would like it and that people like photos and diagrams, so uploading capability is a must. APCA staff said the website part of the repository could be handled inexpensively.

9. Merit-Shop Safety Message

APCA needs to develop a safety message to "advertise the good work that we do." We need to develop the message and then deliver that message at places like Client Safety Summits. It was noted that the speakers at such summits tend to be mostly from union contractors. The committee reviewed a draft form, created by Miles Hester, for collecting the safety data from members that we would use to craft the safety message. The survey would be annual, and the group discussed the various ways the data could be collected (fax, email, by hand). The data needed could be garnered from OSHA Form 300A, but once the data are online, they are dated. It was noted that the APCA Board would have to approve any survey that goes out. It was suggested to add a questions about the type of work the company performs, training data (count all "safety encounters"), and motor vehicle incident rate. The group discussed Client Safety Summits and how to get invited to present. APCA could provide members with the information they need to present themselves or could send someone to present.

10. MediCamp-type Facilities

Ron Oakley asked the committee if they used companies like Construction MediCamp for temporary mobile medical facilities. When something goes wrong, where do you get help? Only one hand was raised when it was asked how many companies use these services. It was noted that many companies find them cost-prohibitive but use remote medicals for some large projects. Committee members said it is a growing industry, and some use Fishbone Safety Solutions. It was noted that when working out West, medical facilities are few and far between.

11. Guest Speakers for Future Quarterly Meetings

Ron Oakley said that we want to add value to the quarterly safety meetings by bringing in speakers on relevant topics. He said that Jim Shelton will present at all the meetings – "He's not a compliance officer, and he has a lot of knowledge." The group discussed possible topics and offered specific speakers that their companies use. Topics discussed: border patrol, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Shelton could arrange), firearm rules and safety (good for companies working in multiple states), active shooter strategy, DOT compliance (former compliance officer Ricky Thigpen was suggested), and accident investigation/root cause.

12. APCA Safety Email

Committee members were encouraged to use This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for communicating with the Safety Committee chairs. The emails go to Ron Oakley, Miles Hester, and Tim Wagner in the APCA office.

13. Best Practices Review and Update Assignment

As most items in the APCA Best Practices Library haven't been updated in several years, the committee will undertake a complete review and update. Committee members will select specific best practices to review, and then the committee will review, discuss, and approve, before sending them to OSHA for approval. These best practices are short and designed to be very general. Committee members will have two weeks to review their sections and were asked to use the "track changes" function in Word so everyone can see the changes being suggested. The goal is to get the suggested changes back by November 30, the revisions to the committee by January 1, and start getting the new best practices to OSHA on January 31. Committee members volunteered for all the best practices (see separate document for assignments). The group discussed new areas for possible best practices and agreed to tackle Jobsite Safety Analysis/Field-Level Hazard Assessment, Pipe Stringing, Fatigued Driving, and Welding & Grinding (in the field and in the shop).

14. 2019 Safety Committee Meeting Dates

The group agreed on the following meeting dates for 2019 (all at the Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, Texas): Q1 - February 28, Q2 - May 9, Q3 - August 15, and Q4 - November 7.

APCA Safety Meeting Notes

August 23, 2018
DoubleTree Galleria
5353 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77056

APCA MEMBER ATTENDEES

• Ron Oakley – SUNLAND, Director HSE; 47 Years in Safety, 11 Years with Sunland; 1,100 Full-Time; 1,976 Employees Last Month

• Miles Hester – PROGRESSIVE, VP of Safety and Risk Management

• Jimmy Lindsey – SUNLAND, OQ Coordinator; 26 Years with Sunland

• Jose Ruiz – SUNLAND, OQ Manager; 8 Years with Sunland; Assist APCA with Bilingual Translations

• Don Quirk – WHC, EHS Manager; 6 Years with WHC; 1,400 Employees, Peak of 2,000

• James T. Roberts – PUMPCO; 28 Years; Safety Director (Retired); Now Part Time – OQ Division; 2,200 Employees

• Nick Bruno – BICON – 14 Years; Division Manager; Station Work; 500 Employees

• Ricky Dyess – MG Dyess, VP, 43 Years in Industry

• Scott Shook – TROY, VP of HSE; 9 Years; 2,400 Employees-Largest Year Since 2012

• Jason Hust – TROY, Superintendent; Been on Committee 8 Years; 22 Years in Industry.

• Aaron Simon – MPG, APCA Board of Directors

APCA ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

• Cameron Strother – SOUTHLAND SAFETY, Operations Director; 11 Years with Southland, 40 Employees

• Mark Beisecker – Cobbs Allen Insurance – 39 Years’ Experience

GUEST

• Jim Shelton – OSHA – Compliance Assistance Specialist – Not Enforcement, Just Assistance; 14 Years in This Position

• Andrew Karr – Energy WorldNet Representative, Guest of Jim Roberts, PUMPCO

APCA EXECUTIVE’S OPENING COMMENTS

• Aaron Simon – MPG

  • Look to grow the participation in the APCA Safety Committee to better serve all APCA members. We need to get member company’s safety person engage with the Safety Committee.

  • We are all in the same business and face the same safety issues. Demand of labor is due to the industry boom. We are all struggling to find qualified workers. There are 46 member Companies in the APCA organization. Some ideas for the Safety Committee to think about and work on:

    • Combined orientation among members

    • OQ Consortium

    • Equipment Operators – What can we do as a group

    • Notification of Alerts…. From an industry as a whole, like INGAA Lesson Learned distribution

    • Look to eliminate repetitiveness in OQ, Training, Orientation, etc.

    • We all need to be Passionate about Safety

• Nick Bruno – Bi-Con Services

  • Very encouraged to see the Safety Committee back together. We need to grow the member participation of the Safety Committee to what it was years ago. We lost momentum over the last year.

• Ricky Dyess – MG Dyess

  • Support the mission. Support what Nick and Aaron have stated. APCA is an asset to the community and to the industry. We need to figure out how do we get represented as a group to our clients – Example: Cheniere meeting next week – if we had a good spokesperson to represent the group and our individual companies.

OSHA UPDATES – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

• Silica Standard Update – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

  • Employers covered by the construction standard have complied with most requirements of the standard by September 23, 2017 (delayed from June 23, 2017).

  • Employers covered by the general industry and maritime standard must comply with most requirements of the standard by June 23, 2018.

  • Additional information available on attached “Silica_FAQs_2016-3-22.pdf”

  • Additional information available on attached “Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica-FAQ-1926.1153.pdf”

• Compliance Officers look for the “low hanging fruit”, i.e., do you have a silica plan, exposure assessment, engineering controls, written control plan, how to train employees, HAZCOM, Knowledge and Understanding of procedures, training, etc.

• OSHA is looking to have a National Emphasis Program (NEP) for Silica in the near future. Currently if they see a dust cloud they are not required to stop and conduct and inspection, as they do Excavation under that NEP.

• OSHA Crane Standard Update – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

  • Certification Program – Published 11-09-2017

  • Certification Deadline due 11-10-2018

  • NPRM 05-21-18 – Operator Competency

    • Look to remove capacity requirement for certification

    • Establish min criteria for operator competency

    • Rearranged training in subsections

  • Certification based on capacity or type

  • Common Procession of Crane Operator (like having a learners permit)

    • Operator in Training

    • Certification

    • Evaluation

  • Evaluation to know if operator has SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, and Judgement

  • Training must meet a minimum training

  • SIDEBOOMS

    • Certification exemption but must be trained…. DOCUMENTED.

  • Operator-in-Training – you can have an operator in training, but a trained operator must be on a 1:1 ratio, onsite to observe and react

    • Supervisor of Operator-in-Training – must be the employer or an agent of employer – this way they can cite as needed, and must:

      • Have knowledge, skill and experience

      • Can’t be doing other tasks

      • Exempted tasks for Operator-in-Training – man baskets, oper shafts, tank farms, power lines…

      • Training – Combination of skill, knowledge and judgement

• Trenching and Excavation – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

  • Re-emphasis on inspections, look for upcoming notice to the National Emphasis Program for increase in inspections due to rise in fatalities.

• Recordkeeping – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

  • 2018 OSHA 300A Submittal and upload to web site for 250+ employees, not the 300 Log or 301 Form

  • You will have to add the Employee Identification Number when submitting

• Free Crane Seminar – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

  • In October there is a free Crane Seminar put on by Crane Inspection and Certification Bureau, LLC,

    • Oct 12^th – Mobile Crane and Rigging Safety Awareness Seminar – 3 Hours

    • Oct 12^th – Overhead Crane/Hoist and Rigging Safety Awareness Seminar – 3 Hours

• University of Houston – CLEAR LAKE (UHCL) – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

  • Fall Protection in Construction Train-the-Trainer Workshop

    • August 30^th – Gulf Coast Safety Institute, 320 Delany Rd, La Marque, TX

    • September 7^th – OSHA Houston North Area Office, 690 South Loop 336, Suite 400, Conroe, TX

  • Fall Protection in Construction (English and Spanish)

    • University of Houston Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX

      • Aug 25^th Spanish (8:30 to 12:30); Aug 31^st Spanish (8:30 to 12:30); Sep 1^st English (8:30 to 12:30)

    • Gulf Coast Safety Institute, 320 Delany Rd, La Marque, TX

      • Sep 6^th Spanish (8 to 12); Sep 6^th English (1 to 5)

  • Classes are filling quickly and more classes are planned to be added

• Update of OSHA website redesign – James Shelton, OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist

  • Laws and Regs

  • Enforcement

  • Trenching and Excavation

OSHA Alliance Events

• June 18^th-23^rd – Trench Safety Stan Down

• August 13^th-19^th – Safe + Sound Week

• September 20^th – Alliance Program Construction Roundtable (APCR) – Washington, DC

SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES AND ACTION ITEMS – Ron Oakley and Miles Hester

• Best Practices Review and Updating of 54 BPs in English and Spanish

  • Assign to Safety Committee members to review/edit on a regular basis

  • Drive this outward, once reviewed and submitted to group (have final vetting by group)

  • Develop new BPs

    • Fatigue Driving?

    • JSA?

    • Need other topics

• Lessons learned repository on the Safety Zone site

  • Need to setup and develop process for entering of Lessons Learned

  • If possible, need to be generic forms, need to be sterilized before distribution

  • Committee – should vet LL for content and cleanliness

  • LL will need to be password protected

• How do we get folks to use the information on the website?

  • Distribute Note to Members – to look and send suggestions

  • Look to add a Member Only (password) site

    • Will associate members have access to the member only site?

  • Look to add in Safety Zone a Resources tab (posters and training materials, etc.)

  • Look to Clean and Simplify the website

  • ALERTS – (this may be more email blast material) – but distribution of industry safety alerts – product, requirements, whatever

  • Look to Remove Data – (may need to have a sidebar and review together)

    • Do the SC Meeting minutes need to be on the site? Or, placed in the Member Only location and include meeting specific information?

  • Should we have a Calendar?

• Setup sub committees and communicate with outside organizations about the non-union safety message

  • Start development of the non-union safety message and best method to deliver the message

  • How to get a voice? EXAMPLE – Sean @ Michels is on everything – for either Michels or PLCA?

  • Client Safety Summits – how to represent APCA?

    • Need to establish a vision to discuss

    • Need to plan now rather than later to prevent from being skipped for a year

• APCA to reach out to members to get safety contacts

  • Must get Executives from each Member Company to encourage participation by their respective safety contact, we need to grow participation and have representation from each Member Company

• Bring in guest speakers to quarterly meetings

  • OSHA Rep invited to all meetings

  • Suggestions for Guest Speakers at Quarterly Meetings

    • Drug and Alcohol

    • Safety Talk

    • DOT Trucking, ELD

    • DOT Pipeline

    • New Standards – Look to review and push organizations to comment

    • Border Patrol

    • Active Shooter (local PD)

    • EEOC – Employment Law (Jim Shelton has contacts)

      • Hiring Practices

      • Health Questionnaire at or pre-hire.

      • Applications or hiring package

      • Background Checks

APCA Mid-Year Meeting – October 10^th-13^th – Charleston, SC

APCA Safety Committee Meeting – November 8^th – Houston, TX

 

INTERNAL TAKE-AWAYS

• Find creation dates for each of the best practices – Miles has completed the task

  • Look to prioritize based on age and industry changes (old, silica)

    • Look at updating silica to meet new standard. Jim Shelton volunteered information (Silica)

• FUTURE HOMEWORK (UPDATE BEST PRACTICE)

  • Ron/Miles – Meet and pick a few to assign

    • Once Assigned, Group to bring notes to next meeting 1-08-18

    • Groups to review select Best practices and make suggestions in redline for group review

  • Look to bring LL for review for the next meeting (need to distribute a notice)

• MARK BEISECKER – Does APCA have the availability or accessibility to Grant Writers to assist with group training efforts, other (from AARON SIMON WELCOME NOTES above)

• RICKY DYESS Question – Exxon – respirator use within 10’ of welding operations?

• QUESTION – What do we need to do to make sure this committee has a PURPOSE?

• DON QUIRK, RON OAKLEY – How to drive loyalty? Big issue

• Look to get email grouping from Tim to enable Safety Committee to properly distribute/communicate with group

• Future Correspondence

  • Send more notices – calendar invites, hotel reminders, especially if homework is assigned