Who: U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration Grain and Feed Association of Illinois

What: OSHA alliance renewal

Background: On March 24, 2023, OSHA's Illinois area offices renewed an alliance with the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois to address grain industry hazards associated with engulfment, falls, conveying equipment and combustible dust. The association's Executive Director Jeff Adkisson joined OSHA Area Directors Trish Rankin in Peoria; Aaron Priddy in Fairview Heights, Jacob Scott in Naperville, Sukhvir Kaur in Chicago North and James Martineck in Chicago South to sign the alliance agreement.

The four-year alliance renews an agreement originally signed in March 2020. Representatives of each organization will meet at least annually to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the alliance to improve safety and health in the grain industry.

OSHA and the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois will continue an active relationship by:

• Providing routine communications on enforcement, regulatory and outreach initiatives.
• Sharing invitations to attend and offering opportunities to speak at OSHA Alliance Program and other agency stakeholder meetings or events. These opportunities include outreach and training activities with OSHA's national, regional or area offices.
• Engaging in information-sharing and technical discussions, including completing special projects of mutual interest aligned with agency priorities as resources allow.
• Participating in the annual Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week.

The OSHA Alliance Program enables organizations to enter voluntarily into a cooperative relationship to raise awareness of OSHA's initiatives, outreach, communications, training and education.

Quote: "Alliances like those between OSHA and the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois  address hazards, reduce risks and improve safety and health management systems to help prevent life-altering injuries and fatalities in the highly hazardous grain handling industry," said OSHA's Regional Administrator Bill Donovan in Chicago. "We look forward to our continued partnership and dialog with the Illinois farming community on the unique hazards faced by their workers."

Original source can be found here.