443 Lafayette Road N.

(651) 284-5000
St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 1-800-DIAL-DLI
www.doli.state.mn.us TTY: (651) 297-4198

Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Council

Minutes
December 1, 2006

Members Present: Staff:

Melanie Isabell Allen James Collins
Carol Bufton Alden Hoffman
Harvey Burski Jeff Isakson
Michael Hawthorne Julie Klejewski
Pat McGovern Jim Krueger
Michael Mueller Bob Sarna
Bill Stuart Tyrone Taylor
Peter Teigland
Daryl Tindle

Members Absent: Visitors:

Eric Ajax Lois Klobuchar
Scott Richter
Ed Raine

The meeting was called to order by chairperson Carol Bufton at 10:04 a.m. Members and
visitors introduced themselves.

A motion was made by Harvey Burski and seconded by Bill Stuart, to approve the
September 15, 2006 minutes as presented. All voted in favor and the motion passed.

There were no additions to the agenda. Carol Bufton stated that Assistant Commissioner
Tom Joachim would not be attending until the later part of the meeting.

VI. Federal OSHA Update – Jeff Isakson on behalf of Mark Hysell

General News: Jeff Isakson stated that the Federal US Department of Labor has posted
their 5-year strategic plan for 2006-2011 which is posted on their website at www.osha.gov.
They have four main goals which are:
1. A Prepared Workplace
2. A Competitive Workforce
3. Safe and Secure Workplaces
4. Strengthened Economic Protections

Isakson reported that in October, all Federal OSHA Managers met in Baltimore with
Assistant Secretary Foulke. The theme of that meeting was OSHA 2020 Brainstorming the
Vision and Future of OSHA. In addition, on November 14th, OSHA released new safety and
health guidance to alert employees and employers about the hazards of occupational exposure

This information can be provided to you in alternative formats (Braille, large print or audio tape).

An Equal Opportunity Employer

OSHA Advisory Council -2- December 1, 2006

to “Avian Flu” and providing practical recommendations on ways to avoid infection. This is also
posted on their website.
Isakson reviewed a new publication that is now available titled, “Small Entity Compliance
Guide for Hexavalent Chromium Standard”, OSHA Publication # 3320. This guide is focused for
use by small employers and is also available online. A little closer to home, MNOSHA’s FFY
2007 grant application was approved by Federal OSHA as submitted, and the review of
MNOSHA’s Standard Requiring Certification of Crane Operators was completed, however, they
are still waiting for the national office to publish the announcement in The Federal Register.

VII. Staff Reports

Compliance – Jeff Isakson
Projects:
• Crane Legislation:
9 Sending out letters to stakeholders every 6 months
9 Final follow-up letter will be sent January 1, 2007 reminding stakeholders this
legislation goes into effect July 1, 2007.
9 Information continues to be posted on our web site
9 MNOSHA and Minnesota Safety Council (MSC) have partnered to provide
outreach presentations on crane legislation to stakeholders throughout the state:
o January 16, 2007 - South Central College, Faribault
o January 23, 2007 - Best Western Garden Inn, Mankato
o January 22, 2007 - St. Scholastica, Duluth
o January 30, 2007 - College of St. Scholastica, St. Cloud
o February 20, 2007 - Minnesota Safety Council, St. Paul
o February 23, 2007 - Rochester City Hall, Rochester
o March 12, 2007 - Minnesota Safety Council, St. Paul
o April 12, 2007 - Concordia Language Village, Bemidji

Construction Breakfast:
• Minnesota OSHA Compliance kicked off the 2006-2007 Construction Breakfast season
with Crane Operator Certification.
9 Held on September 16, 2006
9 117 participants
9 Program identified:
o Certification requirements in reference to the size and type of
crane they operate
o Who’s exempt
o Operator training requirements
o Who may administer this training
9 Presented by:
o Doug Swenson, formerly of Associated General Contractors of
Minnesota, now employed by Crane Service
o Tyrone Taylor, MNOSHA construction supervisor

• James Collins and Jeff Isakson will be attending and speaking at the 51st Annual
Institute for Building Officials conference which is being held in January 2007. They will
be sharing information on what OSHA does from both the compliance and consultation
side.

• Currently working on FFY 07 Annual Report.

OSHA Advisory Council -3- December 1, 2006

• September 7, 2006 MNOSHA participated in Region 5’s pandemic flu tabletop exercise.

• MNOSHA started using a new the FFY07 Scheduling list for inspections in the
workplace.

• The new list of covered industries for AWAIR was adopted October16, 2006. This will
be the first year of using NAICS data.

• Three Minnesota Rules were amended on October 16, 2006 to reflect changes in the
ANSI standard 107-1999 to 107-2004 for high visibility apparel. 5205.0030, 5207.0100,
and 5207.1000.

• Workflow analysis of the Contestation process was completed in September.

Recommendations to reduce employer errors in completing the Notice of Contest Form
will be implemented in the next quarter.

OSHSPA (Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association):

OSHSPA was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey October 3, 4 2006. MNOSHA was represented
by Jeff Isakson. The next OSHSPA meeting will be in Tucson, Arizona in February, 2007.
Minnesota will be hosting OSHSPA conference in June, 2007.

Health:
• Issued 3 Willful and 14 Serious citations to an apartment remodeler for alleged violations
of the Asbestos standard.

• Issued 11 Serious and 1 Nonserious citations to a flooring contractor for allegedly

exposing employees to excessive levels of methylene chloride

• Issued 9 Serious citations to an employer for allegedly exposing employees to excessive

levels of methanol and isocyanate, and lack of training on ppe.

Construction Breakfast:
• The Construction Breakfast Steering Committee met during 4th quarter of FFY06 and
identified the topics to be presented this year.
9 Committee's members are made up of construction industry stakeholders
who volunteered their time.
9 At these meetings, the committee suggests, discusses, and selects the
topics and presenters for the Construction Breakfast program.
9 The success and growth of MNOSHA’s Construction Breakfast Program
is directly related to this steering committee and their team effort.
9 Other Construction Breakfast topics and presentation dates for this
season are as follows:
o Fall Protection, November 21, 2006, 130+ attendees
o Road Construction/Work Zone Safety, January 16, 2007
o Residential Fall Protection, March 20, 2007
o Trenching, May 15, 2007
9 A detailed description of each presentation and presenters may be found
on MNOSHA’s web-site at www.doli.state.mn.us/mnosha.html .
OSHA Advisory Council -4- December 1, 2006

Outreach:
• MNOSHA staffed a booth at the Minnesota Safety and Health Conference Northern
Safety Day in Duluth.
9 300 in attendance
o The staff members who attended this conference stated that
numerous questions were asked in regards to MNOSHA
standards
9 In FFY04, MNOSHA established a baseline of 1,722 participants per year
for outreach training sessions
o During FFY06, MNOSHA exceeded its goal of 1,894 participants
by nearly 39%
o Conducted 90 presentations
o Attended by a total of 4,866 participants
o This increase was primarily due to the continuing working
relationship with the Minnesota Safety Council

• The fall edition of Safety Lines has been issued. This issue also contains
MNOSHA’s photo of the year contest winners to view the photographs visit
MNOSHA’s website at www.doli.state.mn.us/safeline.html.

Discrimination:
MNOSHA continues to improve the cases being resolved within 90 days. Have gone 3 months
without having any cases extended beyond 90 days. Attributed the success to James Collins
and his staff for doing a great job managing those cases.

Employee Training :
We have requested three OTI courses to travel to MNOSHA during FFY 2007:
ƒ OSHA 2010 Hazardous Materials
ƒ OSHA 2040 Machinery and Machine Guarding Standards
ƒ OSHA 3080 Principles of Scaffolding

Along with those courses, most of the staff will be attending a couple of classes per year
through the OSHA Training Institute to expand their education and knowledge of improving
inspection techniques.

In-House Staff Training:

• Initial phone training was conducted for three staff members.
9 Refresher phone training was conducted for the greater Minnesota staff in
each of their staff meetings

Open Positions:
• Over the past 6 months there are no positions open, actually overstaffed by 2.
• Hired two interns this past summer to do research projects. They are assigned
temporary status. At the next meeting, will bring the executive summaries for those
projects for the council to review.
9 Interns are currently going through investigator training
OSHA Advisory Council -5- December 1, 2006

Inspections:
• QA Inspections.
MN OSHA Compliance continues to conduct Quality Assurance inspections within all
units.

Technology:
• OSHA Redesign and Enhancement Project
9 Project was started in January, 2006
9 Project completion and rollout is scheduled for early FFY 2008
9 Will streamline the process and offer staff more time to be out in the field
to work with stakeholders both from an outreach perspective and from a
compliance perspective.

Pat McGovern asked for clarification on how the department handles discrimination complaints.
Jim Krueger stated that under the OSHA Act, the employee is protected when filing a safety and
health complaint. The complaint has to be within that jurisdiction. An example would be when
an employee calls with a complaint and if management finds out and were to fire the employee,
OSHA would then step in at that point. Harvey Burski asked for an average number of cases
OSHA deals with monthly or quarterly. Jim Krueger stated there are typically 3 to 8 cases a
month where they believe discrimination has occurred. The majority of those cases are settled
out.

Bill Stuart questioned what industry type was exposing employees to methanol and isocyanate.
Alden Hoffman stated it was a sub contractor doing flooring and striping work at a Twin Cities
business.

Consultation – James Collins

Projects:
Plan B Papers – Relationship with the University of Minnesota.
• U of M Minneapolis Graduate Student: Plan B Paper. Exploring the relationship
between organizational leadership factors and injury and illness rates in 26 nursing
homes who have received from WSC full safety and health on-site consultations. This
research is about helping consultation look at the data to help improve effectiveness.
The National office is looking for projects throughout the nation that can help them show
effectiveness for consultation and for compliance.
• U of M Duluth Graduate Student: Plan B Paper. Looking at the statistical analysis of the
results of safety and health interventions for the grants we issue to nursing homes.
Every year we offer over 150 grants to all kinds of industries in the state and also issue
close to million dollars in grants every year.

Ergonomics Projects
• Workplace Safety Consultation is collaborating with Allina Hospitals and Clinics and the
Minnesota Nurses Association/Service Employees International Union, to develop a
training video on safe patient handling. This effort coincides with the current nationwide
push for legislation on safe patient handling. States pursuing legislation include Florida,
Hawaii, Connecticut, New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois, and others are currently considering
legislation to minimize manual lifting of patients. James stated he also thinks there may
be sufficient interest in Minnesota to go in that direction also.
OSHA Advisory Council -6- December 1, 2006

• Alternate Medical, Able, Inc., and Spring Valley Senior Living have agreed to work with
consultation in expanding its web-based best practices project. Their examples of best
practices will include safe patient lift uses and material handling.

Construction MNSHARP
• The Commissioner has tentatively given approval to look into and design a program to
assist prime contractors and their sub-contractors with on-site full-service consultation.
This program formalizes the assistance and processes we have followed for many
years. The program will recognize large construction contractors and their employees
for their safety and health initiatives. Projects with at least 18 months duration will
participate in the program. It is expected to make this announcement public before the
year is over.

OSHCON Board of Directors:

• The OSHCON Board met in Newport, Rhode Island last month to plan the next year’s
project managers meeting which will be held in April, 2007. Jim attended this
conference representing Region V.

Federal OSHA Region V:

• Federal OSHA area office conducted an annual program review of the federally funded
portion of the consultation program on September 18, 19, 20, 2006. Michael Houliston,
Deputy Commissioner attended the closing conference. There were no major
deficiencies. The draft report is pending.
• MnOSHA Compliance and Consultation annual report is complete and has been sent to
Federal OSHA. All goals for the consultation program established for 2006 were met and
exceeded.

Staffing:
• The unit has one clerical vacancy and we are in the process of filling it. A job offer is
pending.

Staff Development:
• One staff passed the CSP exam this year. Currently, the unit has 5 CSPs and 2 CIHs.
• During the final quarter, 5 staff attended 100% federally funded training at the OSHA
Training Institute.

Special Programs Update:

Workplace Violence Prevention
• Vikki Sanders returned from a one year leave of absence November 20, 2006.
• Staff conducted 16 training sessions and trained 53 participants representing 100
employers.
• 70 workplace violence related contacts
• 30 referrals were made to police, OSHA Enforcement, the AG’s office and other
government offices.
• Staff provided assistance to schools on the Red Lake Indian Reservation

Loggers Safety Education Program

• Over 1000 loggers received LogSafe training in 2006.
• An annual report detailing the accomplishments of the program since its inception in
1990 was published in 2006.
• It shows the effectiveness of the program.
OSHA Advisory Council -7- December 1, 2006

• Meeting with the LogSafe Council in January to continue the planning to discuss next
year’s training topics.

MNSTAR FFY 06
• Twelve applications on hand. Two have been completed, Honeywell and
Weyerhaeuser.
• Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBI) was certified September 19, 2006.

MNSTAR and MNSHARP Seminar

A second seminar for MNSTAR and MNSHARP participants was conducted in October
2006.
• International Paper was the host
• Topics include:
a. Confined Space
b. Working with Contractors
c. Review of the Mentoring Program
d. Networking luncheon sponsored by International Paper
e. 19 Employees participated
• Planning on two more of these types of conferences this year

Mike Mueller asked how the large employers and large construction projects are identified
in regard to the Construction MNSHARP/PreMNSHARP. James Collins stated a lot of those
types of contractors come to us looking for help. There have been a lot of requests coming
through and the Commissioner felt we should focus assistance on them. With large projects
such as the Gopher Stadium or Mall of America, we have a lot of sub-contractors. One way a
site is chosen is that the project will have to be at least 18 months in duration to qualify. The
actual details are not flushed out yet. James stated he currently has 6 applications on his desk
of request for assistance in construction.

VIII. New Business

Carol Bufton stated this is a continuation of the brainstorming ideas and discussions that
began at the last meeting on where they would like to see MNOSHA focus its efforts over the
next few to several years. The ideas that were put forth at the last meeting are summarized on
page 11 in the September 15, 2006 minutes.
Mike Mueller stated he would like to see incorporating safety and health into a management
system with companies.
Daryl Tindle commented that he recently attended a National Safety Council Conference
where a lot of discussion was held on the impacts of any major disaster such as Katrina, which
would just be the tip of an iceberg compared to the pandemic flu if it were to happen. One
concern is that the staffing at facilities such as medical, hospital, utility, etc., are already working
with a minimum number of people. If you take another 30-40 percent of the workforce away for
any given period of time, the infrastructure will collapse. Feels it is important that federal and
state agencies start looking at what we would do to assist.
OSHA Advisory Council -8- December 1, 2006

Pat McGovern added that the Centers for Public Health, Education and Outreach over at
the School of Public Health, has gotten a couple of large federal grants to do disaster
preparedness and they work with the State Health Department targeting different industries to
do disaster preparedness training. There is work going on in the food industry as there was
concern about the food industry being a target for terrorist activity. There is a new initiative now
for health care systems and there is a lot of free education going on that is being developed.
Pat stated that if this is something where a linkage needs to happen, she would help facilitate it
as she knows who the people are. James Collins stated he would talk more to Pat about that.
Alden Hoffman stated that there is planning at the state level at the Division of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management at the Department of Public Safety. In terms of the
pandemic, the Department of Health would most likely be the lead agency. Labor and Industry
has more of a minor role, however, we do participate in meetings on that subject too. There
was a series of seminars this past year on a various topics such as how it affects the education
system, communication system, health delivery system, and workers as well.
Carol Bufton asked Daryl if his comment could be summarized as follows: that we should
be exploring what OSHA’s role is in disaster preparedness specifically as it relates to what the
safety person’s role is in their own organization.
Daryl Tindle stated that is the direction he is going. He has been asked to make a
presentation next Fall at the National Safety Congress. Based on the fact that many industries
are working with minimal or skeleton staff already, what do we need to do to maintain the
infrastructure and to protect the safety and health of the people still working.
Melanie Allen asked Alden in regards to the state level meetings, if the department is
addressing or contributing a minimum guidance for a health and safety plan for frontline
workers. Have we, as subject matter experts on employee protection, told employers what they
need to do to protect their employees in certain kinds of disasters?
Alden Hoffman responded that we haven’t directed our comments to the employers, but
rather our communication and advisement has been with the other state agencies such as the
Department of Employee Relations. DOER is in consultation with the Health Department, so
the department’s input does get into the system.
Jeff Isakson expanded that within DLI as well as all state agencies, the question is how do
we protect our own workers? We’ve referenced to CDC, Department of Health, and those types
of guidelines to help to determine how we are going to be protecting our own staff in the event
of a disaster.
Melanie Allen stated that in searching for qualified staff to work with her and to become
more competent in her job, she has found that it would be very beneficial for her to be able to
attend a seminar/workshop or a forum on building business cases in this very tight economy.
That could be role for OSHA, as a very diverse group, allowing professionals in safety careers
how best to communicate with managers about investing in preventative programs or
emergency-type response programs.
Carol Bufton reminded everyone that right now this group is creating a laundry list as this is
a derivative of work that was started 5-6 years ago to help this group have input into OSHA’s
future direction. At that time 5-6 years ago, a list of 10 or so initiatives were created and OSHA
was asked to focus on those and report back which they have done. Those initiatives have all
been completed and now a new list is being created.
Bill Stuart stated he would like to revise his suggestion he put forth last time. The focus of
OSHA is lopsided in his opinion and would like the concept to move forward in that the ratio of
staff in compliance versus consultation should be reversed. His concept is to reverse that ratio
and increase the consultation staff. He stated that he is impressed to hear of the things being
OSHA Advisory Council -9- December 1, 2006

done in greater Minnesota, and what a great impact that OHSA has and specifically with the
public type activities such as the ballpark or the stadium and high visibility projects that are
receiving state funds in their construction process. How do we advertise that? Part of it is a
perception that we need to overcome. Would really like to have something firm and concrete
along those lines of what can we do, such as TV presence or media presence, etc.
Carol Bufton added that all of this rolls up into the bigger picture of how do we build
MNOSHA’s image.

Carol Bufton welcomed Tom Joachim to the meeting.

V. Assistant Commissioner Report – Tom Joachim

Tom Joachim stated he is very pleased with the MNSHARP/PreMNSHARP program as it

reaches the final stages. He commented on the final stages of the budget submittals to the
Governor’s office. As there have been some changes in leadership on the hill, there will be
different committees and new chairs to work with so that does present some new challenges
this session. The CCLD has a major reorganization bill this year he has been working on.
Believes the budget request is right in line with what was proposed. He stated that he is still
learning a lot about the two OSHA programs (compliance and consultation), and relates back to
the construction code programs, in that the more spent on education and training, the more they
found recognition by the public. In both the OSHA and construction programs, there is still a
certain percentage of entities that don’t want us to make inspections or make inspections for
code compliance. The vast majority of entities do see the advantages of an OSHA or building
code program and we are making progress.

Continuation of brainstorming discussions:

Bill Stuart stated it is hard for small companies and industry to understand how best to
comply with the rules and regulations. Suggested getting template-type information from the
best managed practices out there to give people indications of what is expected as opposed to
them trying to figure out.
Lois Klobuchar commented when her company was in the MNSHARP program, they used
the pictures taken of certain situations in their Right to Know program so they could see what
was wrong and what they needed to do to make it right. It is also a way for the employee
working there to feel they have the right to say something and that it needs to get corrected. In
addition, when their company was going to get an award, they had a PR person who tried to get
the newspapers involved but they just weren’t interested. Suggested OSHA meet with the
newspaper guilds and explain that this is positive information.
Pat McGovern stated there is a reporter for the Star-Tribune, HJ Cummins, who writes a lot
about employment law. If OSHA is interested in cultivating a relationship with one reporter who
seems to cover that scope, it might be a way to get good media coverage for promotion
purposes, etc.
Harvey Burski suggested the need for more safety management topics in the business
school and engineering school. Feels we need to step back and get into our institutions, and
encourage the Universities to start offering at least one safety class to a person who is obtaining
a 4-year degree.
OSHA Advisory Council - 10 - December 1, 2006

Lois Klobuchar commented when she was a member of the OSHA Advisory Council, she
had understood that it had been instigated by OSHA and was already in process.
Jim Collins stated that it has been many years since we have covered that. The former
director of Consultation, Tim Tierney, helped craft a curriculum for what is now known as
MNSCU and this council did approve of that. A few years ago a couple of technical colleges did
incorporated bits and pieces of the curriculum, so now there is a 2-year safety program, and yes
we need to do more. He likes the idea of making it uniform and saying to MNSCU or the
University systems, that there is a generic curriculum for safety, health, and workers comp so
that safety professionals have that tool to use.
Carol Bufton wanted to clarify that two different items are being discussed. One is the
strengthening of training for people who are going into safety, health or workers comp
administration; and another is incorporating safety related courses into the degree plans for
non-safety related programs such as engineering or business management.
Pat McGovern added that at the U of M Twin Cities campus, the mechanical engineering
program has a very close relationship with the School of Public Health and they do a lot of joint
curriculum in occupational health and safety. Also over the last couple of years, there has been
the development of a new program which is a 12 to 16 credit certificate in occupational safety
and health; and a person can be from any background, has to have an undergraduate degree,
but it is a way for someone to get their feet wet. It has been approved by the Board of Regents.
Pat offered to get more information to attach to the minutes (see copy attached).
Jeff Isakson expanded on what Bill was talking about regarding the training and education
part of OSHA. He stated that about 60% of the fatalities that occur in the workplace occur to
contractors. OSHA has two major partnerships and one is with Associated General Contractors
which is the CHASE program, and of those contractors who are members of AGC, only a small
amount participate in the CHASE program. CHASE is a partnership with OSHA Compliance
where it exempts contractors from certain types of inspections and basically is a self-run type of
a safety program that AGC oversees to make sure they have best practices in place. When
they get to the higher level, then OSHA Compliance actually comes out and does inspections
for them to get them certified. One problem encountered is that OSHA can’t force companies to
participate in MNSTAR/MNSHARP or in CHASE or AGC. They can, however, be encourage to
participate through an informal conferences as such. A lot of the small companies state they
just don’t have the resources to participate when in fact it is the OSHA Consultation group that
would bring them up to speed. Jeff looks at this as a huge opportunity and a joint effort between
the consultation group and the compliance group to partnership with these contractors to get
assistance and comprehensive safety and health programs in place. In short, to expand
participants in construction partnerships, i.e., AGC/ABC.
Jim Collins added that there are three levels to the CHASE program. At the basic first and
second levels, companies will invite consultation in to help them with past identification and
creation of effective safety and health programs, which consultation will do for about a year.
After the bridge is built, they then invite compliance in to do review in order to certify them as an
exempt site under the CHASE program.
Lois Klobuchar asked if there is anyone representing the unions on this panel and also
what is done to get the unions to want to be part of this type of program and work with the
consultation group.
Daryl Tindle stated he is with the IBEW 160. One of his main frustrations is that getting the
message out is very difficult. Several employers he works with in the electrical utility industry in
Minnesota have the program of the year or program of the month awards if they are accident
free. He stated from a union point of view he finds it negative because it ends up having
OSHA Advisory Council - 11 - December 1, 2006

employees hide near misses which are good learning experiences and also puts pressure on an
individual from his peers if the whole unit doesn’t get its safety bonus because one person has a
lost time accident.
Mike Hawthorne stated he is with the Bricklayers and added that in their last contract they
required all of their membership to have a 10 hour certification. They have also put aside 5
cents per hour/per employee for safety training in which they also receive a stipend for attending
the classes.
Peter Teigland stated that per contract all iron workers are required to have OSHA 10-hour
by May 1st of this year. All apprentices have to have safety training before they can even go out
to work.
Lois Klobuchar questioned how can we do a better job at getting everyone to work together
and be a team together.
Daryl Tindle replied what needs to be done is to involve labor more in the development,
implementation and the enforcement of safety on any jobsite or property, as opposed to it being
looked at as discipline.

Carol Bufton summarized the ideas put forth:

1. Change Bill Stuart’s contribution from increase consultation staff to change the ratio
of compliance and consultation staff.
2. Add the potential of meeting with the media and editorial boards or some type of
other forum to provide background to encourage them to cover OSHA success
stories.
3. Encouragement for the movement towards incorporating management systems into
the OSHA process.
4. That MN OSHA has a part in helping to clarify the role of safety staff in the disaster
preparedness process in the event of a disaster.
5. Developing and making available model programs.
6. Expanding construction partnerships.
7. Helping to build the business case for investing in safety and health programs and
encouraging colleges to integrate safety and health studies into degree plans for
appropriate careers.

Carol requested that before the next meeting staff send out a clean copy of the list so that
each member take a look at it and prioritize those they would like to encourage MNOSHA to
focus on in the next 2-5 years. She asked if this can be done electronically before the next
meeting.
Jeff Isakson stated there may be some things that OSHA may or may not have control over
and those can be brought to the table also.
Harvey Burski asked if these brainstorming ideas can be shared with other State groups
and is wondering how those States are dealing with some of these same issues. Suggested it
be put on the agenda when MNOSHA hosts the OSHSPA meeting June 2007.
Carol Bufton added two additional items:
1) She has a conflict with the February 2, 2007 meeting and asked if it would be OK to
reschedule that meeting to another date. Staff will send out a notice.
2) On a sad note, member Ed Raine has been very ill since the end of July and is in the
Crystal Care Center. You can send Ed and his family a message at
www.caringbridge.org. Please keep Ed in your thoughts and prayers.
OSHA Advisory Council - 12 - December 1, 2006

A motion was made by Pat McGovern and second by Bill Stuart to adjourn the meeting at 11:46
a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Julie A. Klejewski

Julie A. Klejewski
Executive Secretary

Attachment (1)
OSHA Advisory Council - 13 - December 1, 2006

Public Health Certificate in Occupational

Health and Safety
A University of Minnesota Regents’ Certificate
Curriculum Sheet

Program Curriculum
The Public Health Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (PHCert-OHS), a program in the
Public Health Practice Major, will be awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 13
credits (16 credit minimum for students new to the field of occupational health and safety). Most
students complete the curriculum by attending at least two Public Health Institutes, held in
May/June of each year (some courses may be available online or during the academic year). For
course descriptions and information on the Public Health Institute, go to
www.sph.umn.edu/publichealthplanet.org
Curriculum Credits are listed in ( ).
PubH 6170 Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety (3) Required of all students new
to the field of OHS
PubH 72xx Global Studies in Infectious Disease (1) or
PubH 6104 Environmental Health Effects: Introduction to Toxicology (2)
PubH 72xx Personal Protective Equipment and Respiratory Protection (1) or
PubH 72xx Preparedness for Buildings (1) or
PubH 72xx Ergonomics and the Prevention of Workplace Injuries (1)
PubH 7214 Principles of Risk Communication (1) or
PubH 72xx Communication and Information Technology Tools for Public Health Emergency
Response (1) or
PubH 72xx Workers as Partners in Emergency Response (1)
PubH 6711 Public Health Law (2)
PubH 72xx Holistic Approaches to Emergency Preparedness (1) or
PubH 72xx Behavioral Health in Preparedness Response and Recovery (1)
PubH 72xx Environmental Health and Preparedness (1)
PubH 6103 Exposure to Environmental Hazards (2)
PubH 72xx Incident Management System (1) or
PubH 6727 Health Leadership and Effecting Change (2) or
PubH 6760 Healthcare Financial Management: Public Sector (2)
PubH 7200 Nanoparticle Exposure & Hazards: What Should the Occupational and Safety
Professional Do? (1)
PubH 6130 Occupational Medicine: Principles and Practice (2) or
PubH 72xx Clinical Management of Occupational Health (1) and
OSHA Advisory Council - 14 - December 1, 2006

PubH 72xx Toxic Agents in the Workplace (1)

PubH 72xx Pandemic Influenza Planning: Key Issues in Preparedness for the Next Pandemic
(0.5) or
PubH 72xx Water and Wastewater Treatment: What Happens Before you Turn on the Tap
and After you Flush? (0.5)
Note: Substitution with other courses may only be taken with prior approval. Check with a
Major Coordinator for selection and approval process.

Certificate Program Requirements

To be awarded the Public Health Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, admitted
students must:
ƒ take and complete the above listed courses (or approved substitutions) for graduate credit;
ƒ achieve a cumulative grade point average of at least a B level (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or above; and
ƒ complete the certificate within four years of matriculation.
Applying to a University of Minnesota Degree Program
Students enrolled in the Public Health Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety may apply
for admission to a University of Minnesota degree program. The application process for each
degree program must be followed and determination of admission is at the degree program’s
discretion. Admission to or completion of the PHCert-OHS Program does not guarantee
admission to any University of Minnesota degree program.

Special Notes on Application to a Master of Public Health (MPH)

Degree Program
If admitted to an MPH degree program, credits acquired in the PHCert-OHS (15-credit
maximum) may be transferred to the MPH at the discretion of the major program and under the
following circumstances:
• Courses were completed for graduate credit.
• A grade of at least a “B” was achieved in all courses requested for transfer.
• Courses were completed within the five years prior to the MPH application.

Tuition and fees

ƒ All certificate students will be charged in-state resident tuition rates regardless of state of
residency.
ƒ Students may be charged additional fees for courses taken as part of the Public Health
Institute.
ƒ All admitted students will be assessed a one-time credential fee of $160.00 for the certificate
program payable prior to course registration.
OSHA Advisory Council - 15 - December 1, 2006

For More Information

Public Health Practice Major

Website: www.php.umn.edu
Major Coordinators: Anne Ehrenberg and Sarah Harper
E-mail: php@umn.edu
Phone 612.626.5665
Fax: 612.624.4498
Major Chair Debra Olson
E-mail: olson002@umn.edu

School of Public Health, Student Services Center

Application Information and Materials
Website: www.sph.umn.edu/students/studentservices/application/
E-mail: sph-ssc@umn.edu
Phone: 612.626.3500
Toll Free: 800.774.8636
Fax: 612.624.4498

Certificate requirements are subject to change for each incoming class, without prior notice to
applicants. Contact a Major Coordinator for specific information.
02/06