AIA Bulletin

10-Step Business Plan

Step One:

Visible, Active Senior Management

Frank Gates/Avizent and AIA Ohio would like to announce the 10-Step Business Plan for Safety developed by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).  Step one includes visible senior management leadership within your company.  This promotes safety as an organizational value.  It is management’s responsibility to take the lead in reducing accidents and illnesses.  Active support from upper management and executives sets the tone for the organization and how it views safety. 

Things you can do:

• Not only should top management issue a written safety policy as a core value of the organization, but they should also designate roles and responsibilities to ensure a safe workplace.
• Establish long- and short-term safety goals for all associates.
• Include safety as an agenda item in all scheduled meetings.
• Regularly review health and safety goals with supervisors and employees.
• Participate in the safety process by joining safety walk-throughs or inspections.
• Model safety attitudes and actions.
• Develop a safety recognition program.
• Track and monitor safety performance as a key component to production. 

The BWC’s 10-Step Plan can help prevent injuries and minimize claim costs.  For more details, please contact Tammy Ring at 800-777-4283. 

Step Two:

Employee Involvement and Recognition

Employee involvement and recognition programs afford employees opportunities to participate in the safety management process.  By encouraging and enabling your employees to participate at differencewise.com/, they begin to take ownership of the safety role and can be valuable by providing more “eyes” for recognizing hazards and implementing controls.

Things you can do:

• Establish safety committees or teams with representatives from both management and operations.
• Train employees in hazard recognition
• Involve employees in conducting department assessments.
• Provide a system for employees to report safety concerns.
• Allow employees to conduct accident investigations
• Develop a recognition program that encourages accident prevention

Set reasonable goals for safety improvement and encourage your employees to become part of the safety program.  Some things you to document include:

• Agenda or minutes of Safety Committee meetings
• Accident or near miss investigation reports with recommendations on preventing similar future accidents
• Outline results of safety survey
• Your safety incentive program and tracking of its effectiveness. 

Step Three:

Medical Treatment and Return-to-Work Practices

Early return to work strategies help injured workers’ return to work more successfully. A disability management or post injury policy should be put in place to help injured workers receive quality medical care at the outset of the injury. The policy should include:

• Inform all employees of the procedures to follow for getting quality medical care when an injury occurs.  This should include notification of an employers managed care organization for workers’ compensation injuries.
• Report all injuries to supervisor immediately.
• Communicate regularly with injured employees while they are off work.
• Investigate all injuries within 24 hours.

Develop a transitional-work program or modified-duty program that will allow an employee to return to work in a productive capacity as soon as they are physically able.  Consult with attorney prior to implementing the program. 

Step Four:

Communications

A program of regular safety and health communication keeps employees informed and solicits feedback and suggestions.  Your approach to managing safety and health will include regular verbal and written communication on matters affecting employee safety and health. Communications include:

• Quarterly written and/or verbal feedback to all employees on their accident-prevention performance;
• Process for upward communication and downward communication throughout the organization;
• Communication such as memos, bulletin boards, staff and general meetings;
• Feedback incorporating your organization’s overall safety and health performance.

The following ideas can help you design your communication plan:

• One-on-one discussion – the supervisor sits down with each employee on a scheduled basis to discuss safety concerns, suggestions and ideas.
• Informal discussion – inform employees that the accident-prevention coordinator is available to discuss their safety and health questions confidentially.
• Group discussion – provide the opportunity for executives, supervisors, team leaders and employees to discuss safety issues at employee gatherings. Regularly schedule meetings to share information and seek input on safety and health matters.
• Written communication – communicate key information, which can be motivational, developmental or informative, in writing;
• In-house company publications – an in-house company newsletter provides accident-prevention information on a regular basis;
• Safety and health booklets – provide safety and health information to employees;
• Safety alert notices – inform employees of accident causes and how they can prevent them;

Safety bulletin boards – use for posting safety-related policies, notices, articles, meeting schedules, meeting minutes, memos, etc. 

Step Five:  

Timely Notification of Claims

Employers must report each claim immediately to their managed care organization (MCO), which will then report the claim to BWC within 24 hours.  When an injury occurs, first arrange for medical care for the employee.  Secondly, you should investigate and document the facts of the claim, and then report the injury to your MCO.

Reporting claims quickly:

• Demonstrates care and concern for the employee;
• Prevents delays and/or confusion in the claim process;
• Lessen the potential for fraud or abuse;
• Reduces the potential for needless litigation.

The timely reporting of claims allows you to:

• Establish an open line of communication with the injured worker;
• Provide appropriate benefits to the injured employee on a timely basis;
• Develop accurate information to manage the workers’ compensation claim.

Step Six:

Safety and Health Process Coordination

Designate an employee as the accident-prevention coordinator. Give that person the responsibility and authority to facilitate organizational safety systems and processes, and ensure that he or she develops the knowledge and skills necessary for creating a safer working environment.

The accident-prevention coordinator does not assume operational responsibility for safety and health, but supports line management, supervision and employees to develop effective safety systems and processes.

Responsibilities include:

• Helping management and employees identify accident prevention and safety and health training needs through perception surveys, interviews, behavior sampling or other similar methods;
• Helping supervisors make changes or develop strategies that improve the organization’s safety systems and processes;
• Identifying and communicating new safety and health requirements;
• Compiling injury and illness-related records;
• Tracking progress on safety and health-related projects;
• Working with employees to optimize safe work practices;

The accident-prevention coordinator should be committed to safety and health, employee wellbeing and have the time, authority and resources to facilitate developing the company’s safety systems and processes. He or she acts as the internal consultant helping the organization make important safety-related decisions.

 Step Seven:  

Written Orientation and Training Plan

No matter how safe a work environment you provide, the success of your safety-and-health systems depends upon the managers, supervisors, team leaders and employees buy-in of safe work practices. The goal of any safety and health training program is not just to impart knowledge, but also to change behaviors and improve decision making. Through a written orientation and safety training, employees receive information about hazards, procedures, processes and expected behaviors.

Your company safety and health training plan should include:

•           Company safety and health policy statement;

•           Employee responsibilities.

After your new employees participate in safety orientation, have their supervisors provide them with job-specific safety and health training. Do not permit employees to start a job until they have received instructions on how to perform the work safely.

In addition, it is important to build supervisor and manager competency levels in safety-and-health. As they emphasize and learn more about effective safety-process management, employees are less likely to be injured or become ill from inherent hazards.

Fully document your safety and health training by including the date, topics covered, instructor’s name and the names of employees attending the training session. Have employees answer written questions about the content of educational material you presented. This helps provide a sense of importance to the training, measures understanding and retention of the material and documents the effectiveness of the training. It also provides the opportunity for constructive feedback from the employees. Have each employee in attendance sign the documentation form on the day of completion.

Step Eight:  

Written and Communicated Safe Work Practices

Provide all employees with written safe work practices so they have a clear understanding of job requirements and responsibilities. Identify, document and publicize both general and job-specific safe work practices. Provide employees with a copy of the general safe work practices, and have all employees sign a statement indicating they have read and intend to follow the safe work practices.

Examples of general safe work practices expected of employees include:

• Practicing good housekeeping;
• Wearing personal protective equipment;
• Using good ergonomic principles;
• Wearing respiratory protection;
• Using and following lockout/tagout procedures;
• Using and following confined-space entry;
• Using hazard communication;
• Avoiding bloodborne pathogens, if applicable
• Applying first-aid procedures (if trained);

Job-specific, safe work practices apply to operations that involve recognized hazards and address risks associated with the business. Publicize job-specific safe-work practices in the work area.

Safe work practices are essential for any organization because they prescribe the accepted behavior and practices the employer expects of employees. You may use a safety involvement team to develop an employee safety handbook. Ask employees for their input in composing the handbook. Include general, company-wide safe work practices and specific safe work practices that apply to each department, the company’s safety policy or a statement on safety as viewed by the top official of the organization in the safety handbook. Each department manager, leader, etc., will review the safe work practices with his or her employees on a recurring basis, at least annually. To help ensure that safe work practice handbooks are read, have employees sign a statement certifying that they have read it, they are familiar with the safety rules and policies outlined in the safety handbook and agree to abide by them. Retain the signed document in the employee’s personnel file.

Step Nine:

Written Safety and Health Statement of Policy

A written safety and health policy signed by the top company official expresses the employer’s values and commitment to workplace safety and health.

Give all new hires a safety and health policy document signed by your top executive. Communicate the safety and health policy to all employees and review it with them on an annual basis. The document will include:

• Manager, supervisor, team leader and employees’ responsibilities regarding the organization’s commitment to workplace safety and health;
• Commitment to returning injured or ill employees to work at the earliest opportunity.

A written safety and health policy clearly states the company’s commitment to effective safety process management and to providing a safe working environment.

This may seem to be a minor step, but it’s often the start in implementing effective safety and health systems and processes. It expresses the commitment to providing and maintaining a safe work environment.

Communicating the organization’s commitment to safety is as important as the company’s statement on producing quality products. Both statements should be mutually supportive. Consider integrating each statement into one comprehensive policy. Employees would benefit from seeing the integration of safety and quality.

Step Ten:  

Record Keeping and Data Analysis

Good recordkeeping is vital in improving health and safety performance.  Accurate and detailed records outlining why accident happened, what process or system needs to be changed to eliminate or reduce the risk of injury and how to make those changes are the goal of this step.

What you can do:

•  Develop Accident Trends – Review your First Report of Injury Forms (FROI), OSHA 300 log or worker compensation reports to identify trends or clusters of injuries. If you live in Louisiana and are in need of a reliable pool construction company, then look no further than relief pools, baton rouge. Look for repeated incidents in a particular department or specific types of injuries (such as cut hands) that are occurring.  Use this information to identify opportunities to improve your safety and health process by focusing on these key areas.  Develop an Action List that outlines the problems, how to correct it and who is responsible for correcting any problems.
• Establish and Track Leading Indicators – Track your proactive safety activities, e.g. number of safety audits completed, number and types of safety training or discussions, or number of near misses investigated.

All of this information is valuable in improving the safety culture and performance of your organization.

A business group that formed five years ago to promote bob growth in the state has adopted Gov. John Kasich’s budget priorities as its next project, which could entail and advertising campaign and other outreach efforts.

Ohio’s Campaign for Jobs is funded by the Partnership for Ohio’s Future, which includes groups such as the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

The coalition has already issued reports promoting several concepts contained in the Republican’s $55.5 billion biennium budget (HB 153), including revisions to Ohio’s criminal sentencing laws and local governments.

Chamber Vice President Linda Woggon said the latest “grassroots initiative” by the coalition would entail a coordinated lobbying effort to make sure those ideas are retained throughout the legislative deliberations.

“We will be watching very carefully to make sure the transformative changes are not watered down,” she said.

Ms. Woggon said Ohio’s Campaign for Jobs is not involved in any ballot issues and therefore won’t be registered as such a committee with the state, however the group could air ads in legislative districts to promote its cause.

She said the business coalition’s budget priorities also include Mr. Kasich’s proposals for education, Medicaid and JobsOhio, or the privatization of the Department of Development with funding from liquor sales.

“Ohio is at a major crossroads. Our recovery depends upon the transformative reforms in the Jobs Budget,” she said. “Ohio’s Campaign for Jobs will make sure all Ohio legislators know the majority of their constituencies stand solidly behind them as they cast the tough votes that will help make Ohio great again.”

Carol Caruso, vice president of Advocacy for the Greater Cleveland Partnership, said in a news release that the education proposals “put student achievement first by directing dollars away from the administrative costs that overburden our system and toward high-quality teachers.”

Roger Geiger, vice president/executive director of NFIB-Ohio, said his group is “standing together with other campaign leaders to make sure the small businesses that are the economic engine of Ohio have an environment in which they can grow and thrive.”

Regarding local government issues, Barbara Benton, Vice President, Governmental Affairs, at the Ohio Society of CPAs, said the campaign would help highlight “the many ways” the “Jobs Budget” will help governments.

“Ohio’s taxpayers deserve state and local governments that employ innovative strategies to produce the best results at the lowest cost for their citizens,” she said.

Other members of the coalition are: ABC of Ohio; Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber; Columbus Partnership; Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce; Ohio Business Roundtable; Ohio Council of Retail Merchants; Ohio Grocers Association; and Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Companies looking to relocate on deserted industrial sites can now search the state’s new online database of brownfield properties.

“Businesses can use the brownfield inventory database to easily look up available properties, learn what infrastructure services are already developed on those sites and what environmental investigation and cleanup has already been done,” the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said in a news release issued Thursday.

“Communities will find the website a useful tool for planning or promoting new development for local brownfield sites.”

Not all the listings may actually be available, however. For example, a search of Franklin County brownfields offers the 122-acre former Delphi Automotive Plant site, where Penn National Gaming is planning to start building its casino this spring.

Penn National spokesman Bob Tenenbaum was surprised to find out the property was listed on the state’s brownfield database.

“Whether it’s on this list or not we’re going to start building a casino there very shortly,” he said.

OEPA spokeswoman Linda Fee Oros said any site that applied for Clean Ohio program funding gets entered into the database.

Brownfield sites that are still undeveloped will likely be listed even if there are immediate construction plans, she said, adding owners could file an affidavit for properties to be removed from the inventory.

“With brownfields, they’re a little tricky and it’s a good idea to keep them on the radar screen until the project is complete,” she said, noting the sites frequently change hands. 

Penn National applied for $2.5 million from the state’s Clean Ohio program for final cleanup after spending about $20 million to remedy the Adelphi site, Mr. Tenenbaum said. However, the recently passed transportation budget (HB 114 ) blocked gambling companies from getting any kind of economic development incentives.

“My guess is that when they see construction begin on that site, they will understand that there’s going to be a casino there by the end of next year,” he said.

Ohio EPA said Thursday it has developed a new online tool to help businesses identify and develop brownfield properties in

Ohio.

Businesses can use the brownfield inventory database to easily look up available properties, learn what infrastructure

services are already developed on those sites and what environmental investigation and cleanup has already been done.

Communities will also find the website a useful tool for planning or promoting new development for local brownfield sites,

the agency said in a release.

Many sites listed in the inventory are already cleaned up and ready for use, while others may be close to completing a

cleanup, or have one or two phases of cleanup completed. Contaminated properties without any investigation or cleanup

work performed are not likely to be listed on the brownfield inventory since it targets properties that have been identified

as “redevelopment ready” projects, Ohio EPA explained.

The online inventory contains information concerning addresses, prior uses, photos, utilities available, proximity to major

roads, airports and public transit. It includes mapping tools with pan, zoom, terrain, satellite, and street view features, and

grid tools with filter, sort, group or export features. Online tutorial videos demonstrate how to use interactive features.

Local governments and private entities may apply to add properties to the database or use an affidavit for property to be

removed from the inventory if the property has already been redeveloped or they choose to remove it.

Assessment and clean-up assistance is available through Ohio EPA to facilitate the redevelopment of brownfield sites. For

example, Ohio EPA may be able to provide environmental investigation and field screening services at no cost for

brownfield sites in Ohio communities through a U.S. EPA grant program. In addition, the Clean Ohio Fund has grant money

available to assess and clean up sites, moving blighted properties into active use. Additional information about assessment

and financial incentives can be found online at http://www.derr.epa.ohio.gov/Process.aspx .

According to Ohio EPA, “Brownfield properties are abandoned, idled or under-utilized properties and can be unmaintained,

often with owners no longer paying taxes. Abandoned properties can attract vandalism, vectors, illegal dumping, and

become eyesores that degrade the environment, depress the community and pose health risks. Redeveloping or expanding

a brownfield site can be complicated when there is contamination from hazardous substances, petroleum or the potential

for a hazardous release. It takes professionally trained and certified assessors to detect when hazards exist. Structures —

such as abandoned factories, warehouses, power plants, dry cleaners, hotels or gas stations — may exist on a brownfield

property.”

The House Finance & Appropriations Committee fleshed out the executive budget with much anticipated legislative language March 29 as members heard the administration explain provisions designed to help local governments and schools weather cuts.

Members replaced the placeholder version of the $55.5 billion two-year spending plan with a substitute more than 3200 page re-write of HB 153. 

Committee members then had a chance to hear Office of Budget and Management Policy Advisor Randy Cole explain how the measure would help local entities cope with reduced revenue. Mr. Cole also serves as Controlling Board president.  

The proposed budget would reduce or eliminate a number of state-imposed mandates, rules and regulations that drive up local government costs with little or no benefit to taxpayers, he said, citing the requirement for public entities to pay union-scale wages for construction projects.

“We are not eliminating the prevailing wage, but rather modernizing it by increasing thresholds. However, we are exempting Department of Development projects and state colleges and universities,” he said.

Columbus is among the three finalists in the “large community” category for the 4th annual Siemens Sustainable Community Awards, sponsored by Siemens and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC).

The other two cities in the category are Baltimore, MD and San Jose, CA.

According to a release, “The finalists represent outstanding local-level efforts to achieve complementary economic, environmental, and quality-of-life goals.”

“The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards show that sustainability is about building a better community for the long-term,” said BCLC Manager of Corporate Community Investment Hanna Felleke. “Stability and competitiveness are top of mind. Good sustainability planning goes hand-in-hand with competitive communities.”

Other finalists for the 2011 Siemens Sustainable Community Award finalists are:
  
– Mid-Size Community — North Little Rock, AR; Pittsburgh, PA; Raleigh, NC

– Small Community — Brea, CA; Burlington, VT; Greensburg, KS

A panel of five business, environmental, and community development experts selected the finalists from nearly 100 applicants. The judges were Donald J. Borut, executive cirector of the National League of Cities; Alan Greenberger, acting deputy mayor, planning and economic development, Philadelphia; Professor Leonard Lodish, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Joel Makower, chairman and executive editor of GreenBiz Group Inc.; and Joe Sibilia, chairman of CSRwire. 

“Siemens is very proud to be sponsoring these awards. In order for sustainability to fully take root within a community, companies need to work together with residents and local governments to ensure there are real programs at the grassroots levels. These awards encourage the type of community-level action that we need across the country,” said Eric Spiegel, president and CEO, Siemens Corporation.

The winner in each category will be announced on April 12 at the Chamber BCLC’s National Conference on Corporate Community Investment, held in Philadelphia. 

Richard Hickman Jr. led his first meeting of the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) in his second tour as director Thursday with an update on the repeal of “responsible bidder” guidelines for school district construction, a remnant of the Strickland administration.

“I believe we are in very good shape in going forward with the requirements with Resolution 11-16,” he said, addressing OSFC’s latest position on project labor agreements (PLA) in school construction. The resolution, a product of the reconfigured commission under Gov. John Kasich, generally prohibits PLAs except when a district requests, and OSFC agrees to, a waiver from non-union guidelines.

Hickman said projects advertised for PLA bids before the Feb. 24 date of the resolution will proceed with whatever union agreements that may be adopted by local school boards. School projects opened for bidding after the effective date will generally ban use of PLAs.

That equation is complicated, however, by the serial nature of construction projects, he said, in which a given building or element of construction is bid at one point, and another segment of the project is bid at a later time.

“In many respects it’s a legal review,” the director said in response to a question from ex officio commission member Rep. Lou Gentile (D-Steubenville). 

Hickman said the status of a given PLA project, and the progress of construction within that project, will be evaluated by the commission on a case-by-case basis. “… There may be legal consequences to what we do.”

Circleville City School District is the one district to date that has asked to withdraw its PLA, Hickman said, while four districts – Akron Public Schools and Springfield Local School District in Summit County, Euclid City Schools in Cuyahoga County, and Switzerland of Ohio Local Schools in Monroe County — have requested the option of union contracts and a waiver from Resolution 11-16.

Outside the meeting, Hickman said that at this point it is unclear how the commission would distinguish between state funds and district matching funds in granting a waiver from the non-union policy.

“My sense is that it would be very difficult to determine precisely on a contract-by-contract basis what that incremental cost might be,” he told Hannah News.

At least where the Ohio School for the Deaf/School for the Blind projects are concerned, Hickman told commission members that OSFC is required to approve prevailing wage agreements, to the extent both are technically state agencies and therefore state construction projects.

“We believe we’re on schedule, and we believe we are going to get those projects within the capital appropriation,” he said.

The director also updated the commission on Sen. Tom Patton’s (R-Strongsville) question at the previous OSFC meeting about the feasibility of bidding school furnishings in the same way school facilities are bid. (See The Hannah Report, 2/24/11.)

“It’s a pretty costly situation we were asked to deal with,” Hickman said, noting the $30-40 million in annual costs to the state for school furnishings. He said OSFC is working with the state purchasing office on a standardized bid process in lieu of existing cost schedules for furniture purchasing, and that it could take some time to get this completed.

State budget director and commission chair Tim Keen asked Hickman about the status of the old Libbey High School building in Toledo, where members of the community are trying to preserve the building as a historical landmark. A representative of the group testified at February’s meeting of OSFC.

Hickman said his office had recommended three options to the Toledo Board of Education, one being to continue abatement and demolition of the site and another to delay further action on the building until either this October or next spring. 

He said the school board had met only this morning and decided to proceed with its current schedule for an auction in April or May and — that failing — abatement bids by June and demolition bids by August. Based on that calendar, Hickman said, demolition of Libbey High School would be completed by January.

Hickman also advised commission members that he will be updating the commission calendar on district groundbreakings for each OSFC meeting and encouraged them to consider when they might attend ceremonies.

The House unanimously sent Governor Kasich’s $7 billion transportation budget to the Senate March 10.

Rep. Ross McGregor (R-Springfield), chairman of the House Finance & Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee, described the measure as “a very modest and responsible budget” that focused on maintaining existing infrastructure (roads, bridges, sewers, etc.).  Changes the House made to the executive version not only reduced overall spending by nearly $15 million, but also will help retain jobs, he said, pointing to capital appropriations of $150 million for the State Capital Improvement Program and $49 million for the revolving loan fund.

The Public Works Commission, which administers the local infrastructure financing programs, estimated the capital appropriation levels would help retain 28,000-30,000 jobs in the state, Rep. McGregor said during his floor speech.

Former Rep. Larry Flowers, a Canal Winchester Republican, has been named state fire marshal and will begin serving in the new position on April 4.

Flowers was forced from the House by term limits in 2008. Prior to his legislative career, he was fire chief for the Madison Township Fire Department in Franklin County from 1978 to 2000 and has recently been serving as Madison Township administrator. 

As state fire marshal, Flowers will direct the operations of the Bureau of Testing and Registration, Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations, Code Enforcement Bureau, Fire Prevention Bureau, Forensic Laboratory, Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau and the Ohio Fire Academy. 

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s (MORPC) Center for Energy and Environment held an educational forum, “Energy Efficient Building Codes: What’s at Stake?” on Friday, to discuss building and energy codes, Ohio law, and the housing market.

For the past two years, a coalition including environmental organizations, civic groups, code experts, and business representatives has been calling for stronger residential codes. Much debate has heated up over the proposals to enact stronger building codes that would make new homes more energy efficient. The forum focused on the energy codes being considered in Ohio, any alternatives to the codes, and the pros and cons of enacting a stronger code given concerns over today’s economy and the environment. 

A panel of speakers from all sides of the debate gave their perspectives about energy efficient building codes and provided a better understanding of the issues surrounding this on-going discussion. Panelists included Maria Ellingson, senior program manager, Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP); Bill Owens, president, Ohio Homebuilders Association (OHBA); Jim Hilz, executive director, BIA Central Ohio; Amy Gomberg, director of government affairs, Ohio Consumers’ Council (OCC).

“MORPC feels that it is important to host community conversations about significant policy matters that have an impact on our region’s economy and sustainability,” said Laura Koprowski, director of public and government affairs for MORPC. “As we watch surrounding states in the Midwest adopt new energy codes, it is timely and necessary for our state to consider if new approaches would be in the best interest of Ohioans.”

Jerome Tinianow, director for MORPC’s Center for Energy and Environment, hosted the event and opened by saying that there is about 100 years left of non-renewable energy sources in the world, and eventually the world economy will need to exist entirely on renewable sources of energy, which he believes will be a portfolio, but mainly solar.

“The longer we put off a solution, the more expensive it gets,” he said. “The good news is we are not in crisis and can make some deliberative decisions.”

The panel was given a set of questions and each presented his or her view on energy and building codes at all levels of government and its effects on the economy in the state.

Ellingson said BCAP will be releasing a report on the status of building codes in Ohio. In her presentation she said that what builders do is important for energy consumption, energy efficiency and the longevity of a building which averages 30 to 100 years.

She said buildings consume 72 percent of electricity, and 40 percent of all U.S. energy use. Because Ohio is a net importer, this means more money is being sent out of the state, which is bad for the state’s economy and ultimately bad for taxpayers.

Energy inefficiency also costs taxpayers federal dollars with programs such as LIHEAP, which helps pay low-income Americans heating and cooling utility bills. In 2009, $220.8 million was paid out by the federal government in low-income assistance for energy bills. Further through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, over three years $267 million will be paid out to low-income Americans.

“It costs less to build it right the first time,” Ellingson said.

Some statistics Ellingson cited for why building codes are important included:

– Ohio’s industrial sector is one of the highest users in the nation.
– 4^th most coal-consuming state.
– 2^nd highest in CO2 emission in the U.S.

Building codes protect individuals from substandard living and working conditions by setting minimum standards for acceptable practice. Energy codes set the minimum standard for the energy efficiency of buildings, she added.

Energy codes began as an answer to the 1970s energy crises. Since 1978, when Congress passed energy efficiency standards for new buildings, the codes have undergone many updates and improvements, especially over the past 10 years, Ellingson explained.

Ohio’s current residential energy codes are based on 2006 International Energy Conservation Codes (IECC) although Hilz was quick to point out that most new housing construction follows 2009 codes, as well as Energy Star certification. It depends on the builder, he explained, as did Owens.

Looking at a map of states with regards to IECC building code standards that have been adopted, Ohio meets or exceeds the 1998-2003 IECC or equivalent overall. However, states like Illinois and Pennsylvania meet or exceed IECC 2009 standards overall.

Code adoption in Ohio falls under the authority of the Department of Commerce, Board of Building Standards (BBS). The BBS was created in 1955 for this purpose, while residential energy codes were added to its authority in 1977, Ellingson said.

In 2005, 125-HB175 (Buehrer) created the Residential Construction Advisory Committee (RCAC), to provide the construction industry input into the code adoption process, and to assure that building codes are feasible and realistic. The committee consists of nine members, appointed by the director of the commerce department, with construction experience, including three general contractors, one RES contractor with remodeling experience, one architect, two building officials, one certified fire safety inspector, and one municipal mayor.

According to Ellingson and Owen agreed, it would be helpful to include on RCAC a building scientist who has expertise in construction of energy efficient buildings.

RCAC believes that they must recommend a code to the BBS in order for it to be adopted. Rules proposed by BBS are filed with the secretary of state, the Legislative Service Commission, and JCARR at least 60 days prior to adoption.

Local government code departments enforce these building and energy codes. However, according to Ellingson, about 80 percent of the state population has an enforcement structure, while 20 percent has no enforcement.

Gomberg, who represents Ohio utility consumers, said energy and building codes are about energy bills. She said one in 10 Ohioans are struggling with their energy bills, and 800,000 Ohioans are currently in arrears for their utility bill up to 60 days.

“We care about energy codes and see it as a clear and direct link to paying energy bills,” Gomberg said. 

She also pointed out that homebuyers are not the only areas to target for energy efficiency measures such as weatherization and Energy Star appliance upgrades, but renters and landlords. She explained that because the tenant does not own the building or have any real investment in the property, these buildings often are inefficient because there is no incentive to upgrade the building.

Hilz said he is concerned with a private nonprofit association controlling building and energy codes, not the government. As an example, he said Energy Star is a government program that provides flexibility for the builder.

Owens agreed with Hilz and said the industry needs time with respect to mandating tougher building and energy codes, due to the current housing and economic crisis.

Ellingson responded by saying that marketing a home as being energy efficient is a great marketing tool for the industry and it should see the energy codes as way to spur the housing market.

Hilz said most new homes are energy efficient, but the level of efficiency from one developer to the next can vary. Owens said at this time he does not support more stringent codes.

Of the panelists, ideas for improvements to the laws that have already been set out in 125-HB175, Owens said he would just like to see chapter one of the residential codes enforced. Hilz said he would like density mandated. Gomberg would like the state to adopt the most recent energy and building standards, while Ellingson said her recommendation would be to assign a building scientist as a member of RCAC.

In the space of 15 minutes Thursday, the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) reversed four years of Democratic leadership, restoring former Taft appointee Richard Hickman Jr. as commission director and rescinding “responsible bidder” guidelines that were a centerpiece of the Strickland administration’s OSFC policy around project labor agreements (PLA) and other concessions to organized labor. 

Chief financial officer and former acting director Eric Bode gave his final executive report before the vote for Hickman, updating members on a major piece of the PLA dispute under former executive director and Strickland appointee Richard Murray. He said commission staff had prepared a three-page memo to bring to closure OSFC’s response to an Ohio Inspector General report critical of Murray’s purported bias toward union contractors. Bode said OSFC is proceeding with a new “Bidder Information Center” for better data tracking; increased monitoring of professional bid reviews through a new advisory committee of construction managers and architects; and a revised “issue reporting process” for a completed project’s post-occupancy evaluation.

Bode explained to Department of Administrative Services Director Robert Blair — one of three voting members including commission chair and state Budget Director Tim Keen and state Superintendent Deborah Delisle — that there is no “appeal process” as such for disqualified bids, and that each project is handled individually.

In a further reference to the labor battle under Murray, Bode said OSFC is preparing to re-bid the Ohio School for the Deaf/School for the Blind projects again, without PLAs.

In other cost-saving moves, he said commission staff had met with Sen. Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) on a possible bid process for school facility furnishings, similar to the bid process for school construction.

The commission moved forward on a long list of resolutions, beginning with the motion for Hickman’s appointment. The vote passed 2-0, as state Superintendent Deborah Delisle and her proxy were conspicuously absent from the meeting. Hickman will begin March 1 with a salary of no more than $115,000.

Bode was then commended for his service as interim director and chief financial officer in a separate resolution, as it was noted he would be leaving OSFC for other opportunities.

Keen and Blair then took up the larger issue of PLAs and prevailing wage, passing a resolution to rescind OSFC’s past Resolutions 07-98 and 07-16 under the Strickland administration:

“The commission believes open contracting for publicly funded construction projects aids in lowering the costs of such projects. … The commission now believes that many of the Model Responsible Bidder Workforce Standards contained in Exhibit A to Resolution 07-98 are redundant with current law, serve to restrict efficient procurement by increasing project costs or restricting competition by otherwise qualified contractors, or are not reasonably related to responsible bidder contracts.”

The resolution goes on to make the following declaration: “The commission will not approve any contracts that require the adoption of any agreements or specifications that attempt to impose any of the following requirements as a condition of submitting a bid or entering into a construction contract for or relating to a commission project: (a) identifies and requires any single source of employee referrals; (b) stipulates a specific source of insurance and benefits including health, life and disability insurance and retirement pensions; (c) controls or puts limits on staffing; (d) requires proprietary training programs or standards; (e) designates assignment of work; or (f) mandates wage levels, except in those instances of federal Davis-Bacon wage requirements.”

Resolution 11-16 does ensure that such restrictions will not limit local “inclusion” goals or moot Ohio’s Encouraging Diversity Growth and Equity (EDGE) Program.

Keen said the rollback of responsible bidder standards could be grandfathered in the case of PLAs and other wage and benefit concessions approved before Feb. 24, 2011, but might not be. 

“The commission retains discretion to review the terms of the 07-98 agreements and determine the applicability of this resolution.”

State Auditor David Yost supported the resolution in a letter to OSFC Thursday, although he included the following caveat:

“Available data and research offer conflicting views on the fiscal impacts of PLAs. The difficulty of controlling for the many variables in complex construction projects leads to more questions than empirical conclusions. However, by their very nature, PLAs distort the price-setting function of the markets. The tax-paying public deserves the benefit of the best price for the thing it seeks to purchase — a price set by a free, competitive market, unfettered by artificial constraints like PLAs.”

In response to a series of questions from nonvoting OSFC member Rep. Lou Gentile (D-Steubenville), Keen said the new resolution does not prevent districts from requesting certain “special conditions” in their contracts that do not conflict with the resolution as a whole.

Gentile tried to get to the perceived need for the labor rollback, asking how many school projects had actually participated in all or part of the responsible bidder standards. OSFC identified 13 PLAs and 15 projects with prevailing wage agreements. Gentile asked further whether the commission or its staff had done a comparison of “change orders” for previous and existing projects. Bode said a comprehensive analysis had not been performed. Finally, Gentile asked about rescinded OSHA requirements. Keen said they would not be affected by the resolution.

Gentile and Sen. Tom Sawyer (D-Akron), another nonvoting member of the commission, asked why training programs and skill standards should be eliminated. Keen said there was no barrier to training and standards generally, only specific programs cited in construction contracts.

Sawyer also returned to the larger question contemplated by Blair. “This would appear to be entirely up to the discretion of the commission on a case by case basis with no standards contemplated,” the senator said. As with bid appeals, Keen said contract terms and performance will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

The meeting concluded with public testimony from Toledo City Council member D. Michael Collins, who asked the commission to stop the city school board’s demolition of the former Libbey High School, which he described as a historical landmark with architectural merit. He said the school board had refused to release public records on the district’s OSFC timeline for the demolition, and told the commission a group of interested community members could raise the necessary funds to preserve the site within five years. He cited a Dec. 31, 2011 deadline for the OSFC project, however.

The commission agreed to grant a 30-day delay to give OSFC staff more time to study the matter.

Keen expanded on the vote for executive director after the meeting, saying Hickman was the clear choice for the job, having previously held the position. He also spoke to the rescinded responsible bidder policy.

“We hope to accomplish making our scarce dollars for school construction go as far as possible,” he said. “I think this resolution is one that should be viewed as being for free and open competition.”

He said the new resolution brings the commission full-circle to the contracting policy during Hickman’s first administration. “Essentially, we are returning to the view of the commission at that time.”

The Ohio School Facilities Commission has named Richard Hickman Jr. its new executive director. Having held the job during the Taft Administration, Hickman is no stranger to the job.