"Our Alliance with Dow has proven that, together, we can improve worker safety and health," said OSHA Administrator Ed Foulke. "We have developed safety and health topics pages, established best practices, and created case studies in ergonomics and motor vehicle safety: we welcome the opportunity to continue our collaboration with Dow and build on our successes."
"This initiative has allowed us to bring the best of Dow together with the best of government to collaborate towards mutually beneficial goals," said David Graham, vice president, Environmental, Health and Safety for Dow.
The Alliance will continue to focus on sharing information among OSHA employees and industry safety and health professionals regarding Dow's best practices, such as ergonomics and motor vehicle safety case studies, and publicizing results through OSHA and Dow developed materials, training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures.
Since the Alliance was first signed in 2003, OSHA and Dow have presented workshops on the PSM standard and reactive chemicals. The Alliance helped to develop OSHA's electronic assistance tool for ammonia refrigeration. Safety managers at Dow are participating on the editorial boards for various chemical-related Safety and Health Topics pages on OSHA's Web site, including PSM, Reactive Chemicals, Ammonia Refrigeration, and Isocyanates.
The ergonomics and motor vehicle safety case studies that were developed under the Alliance are available on OSHA's Web site. The ergonomics case study discusses how Dow has applied the "Six Sigma" management system strategy to identify and implement ergonomics solutions. ("Six Sigma" is a process-oriented approach to problem solving that emphasizes a four-step improvement methodology of measure, analyze, improve and control). The motor vehicle safety case studies focus on reducing motor vehicle accidents by identifying their root causes and implementing effective motor carrier and vehicle safety programs.
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many consumer markets. Dow and its approximately 42,000 employees serve customers in more than 175 countries and a wide range of markets including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others.
