IMRA-OSHA alliance: a winner for retail - Guest Column - International Mass Retail Association, Inc signs pact with Occupational Health and Safety Administration

DSN Retailing Today, April 7, 2003 by Sandra Kennedy

IMRA's 2003 Loss Prevention, Auditing and Safety Conference, held last month in Orlando, ran true to form. Replete with IMRA's special blend of world-class education and networking, the event was an unqualified success. That's hardly news: Participants have come to expect a value-packed experience at IMRA conferences, and we work hard to deliver it.

At last month's conference, however, we delivered something over and above the event itself: IMRA and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) signed an agreement that ushers in a new era of business-government cooperation and promises to yield great benefits for the mass retail industry.

With the goal of fostering safer and more healthful American workplaces, OSHA and IMRA have formed an alliance to promote a "culture of prevention," while sharing best practices and technical knowledge on the constantly evolving issue of ergonomics.

The mass retail environment is multifaceted and complex, involving much more than just stores--manufacturing and transportation facilities, warehouses and distribution centers, and offices and data centers are also in the mix. If mass retailers have learned anything about workplace health and safety in recent years, it's that one size doesn't fit all--retailers and their suppliers need the flexibility to devise ergonomics solutions that address their specific needs.

Now, with a new approach--and a willingness to work with the business community--it seems that OSHA has learned the same lesson. This awareness on the agency's part will create an atmosphere of true cooperation that will produce real progress toward improving workplace safety.

There's also the awareness on the part of both OSHA and the industry that we have a common goal: keeping workers--or most valuable resource--healthy, safe and productive. And by working together to foster a workplace culture that focuses on the prevention of injuries, we can do a much better job of reaching that goal.

The new alliance will permit OSHA and IMRA to address real-world ergonomic challenges that our members face every day, while allowing mass retailers the flexibility they need. The alliance also will increase communication and build stronger relationships between OSHA and IMRA and provide a forum to educate OSHA officials about the mass retail industry.

From the mass retail industry perspective, it's hard to see a down side to this arrangement. And John Henshaw, the U.S. Department of Labor's assistant secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, apparently agrees.

At last month's Loss Prevention, Auditing and Safety Conference, assistant secretary Henshaw announced the agreement and commented on the alliance. "This alliance validates that IMRA recognizes the value of safe and healthful workplaces," he said. "Together, we can assure that thousands of American employers and workers in the retail industry are armed with the information and tools to make their workplaces safer."

We're very proud to be the voice of safety in the mass retail industry--and incidentally, the first retail trade association to enter into a cooperative agreement with OSHA--by proactively reaching out to the agency and joining its efforts to. enhance workplace safety. IMRA's continuing commitment to address ergonomic challenges in collaboration with OSHA will provide the industry a wealth of expertise and knowledge in its ongoing effort to make the mass retail industry a safer place.

Assistant secretary Henshaw's presentation and announcement at last month's conference turned out to be one of the highlights of the event. Perhaps not as entertaining as Frank "Catch Me If You Can" Abagnale's closing keynote session, but definitely more significant in terms of its positive effects on our industry.

I particularly liked the title of Mr. Henshaw's presentation: "Industry-OSHA Cooperation: Everybody Wins." I think that says it all.