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Winter 2008 OCMA News |
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Winter 2008 OCMA News |
Winter 2008 OCMA NEWS
More than fifty (50) OCMA members attended the OCMA meeting on January 16, 2008, to hear several presentations exploring the process of change. Ohio Representative and Speaker Pro Tempore Kevin DeWine spoke about the significant changes that have been made by the Ohio General Assembly to improve the business climate in Ohio. Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office, warned OCMA members about potential changes that could be very detrimental to the Ohio metal casting industry. Lastly, Jeet Radia, McWane, Inc., described the “turn-around” at McWane, Inc. that had dramatically changed health, safety, and the environment at McWane, Inc. facilities. Key points of their presentations are outlined below: 1. The focus of the Ohio House leadership has been to improve the business climate in Ohio. The Ohio General Assembly has made some tremendous strides towards that goal in the past four years. The recent Ohio budgets passed by the Ohio General Assembly have had the lowest rate of growth in more than forty (40) years. 2. The Ohio General Assembly passed the largest tax cut in state history, 21% across the board, with the top rate of 7% reduced. The tax package also included major business tax reform, including the promised elimination of the tangible personal property tax and the implementation of the commercial activity tax or CAT. The CAT has been more productive than anticipated with revenues exceeding projections by more than $100 million. 3. In the area of higher education, the Ohio General Assembly
has worked with the Governor to freeze tuition at the state supported
universities and community colleges. Additionally, an initiative
from the House leadership lead to the funding with $100 million
dollars of a new scholarship program called “Choose Ohio
First”. The program provides scholarship monies to students
majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Additional monies allocated to this program are intended to recruit
more educators in the STEM fields to Ohio universities and colleges.
This program should spur a greater number of graduates in these
areas that will be critical to the revitalization of the Ohio economy. 5. The goal of the House leadership is to create a stable electricity market in Ohio and to prevent the skyrocketing increases that affected businesses and consumers in Maryland, Illinois, and New Jersey. Although rates could increase precipitously if legislation is not enacted, the House leadership is intent upon legislation that will prevent spikes in electricity rates in Ohio. The House is also interested in providing an environment where a competitive electricity market could evolve. The legislation is also likely to contain incentives for new advanced energy technologies and renewable energy. The House is targeting March or April for passage of the legislation. 6. Rep. DeWine discussed the situation in Ohio where different organizations that have been unable to persuade the Ohio General Assembly to pass legislation, have turned to using the ballot initiative to accomplish their goal. He reminded the OCMA members about the constitutional amendment that raised the minimum wage in Ohio after the November 2006 ballot initiative. 7. The Healthy Families Act is this year’s favorite. Under the proposal, companies with more than twenty-five (25) employees would be required to provide a minimum of seven (7) days of paid sick leave to all full-time employees and a pro-rated amount to part-time employees. Organizations supporting the Healthy Families Act were able to secure an adequate number of signatures in support of the petition and the Ohio General Assembly is considering the proposal. If the legislature does not enact the bill within 120 days, the groups have an additional ninety (90) days to collect an additional 120,000 signatures to place the issue on the ballot for the November 2008 election. 8. Rep. DeWine suggested that much of the important changes in the business climate in Ohio during the past several years could be undermined by ballot initiatives such as the minimum wage and minimum provision of paid sick leave. For example, if the Healthy Families Act goes to the ballot and wins, Ohio would be the first state in the USA that requires employers to provide a minimum number of sick days. This type of mandatory requirements does not improve Ohio’s ability to recruit companies from outside of Ohio to “open shop” in Ohio. This remains a very difficult issue and one that will need to be addressed in the near future. Due to term limits, Rep. DeWine is unable to run for re-election in the House. In January 2009, he will take over the position of Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. Rep. DeWine has been a valuable ally to the business community during his tenure in the Ohio General Assembly. We are confident that he will continue his support by recruiting pro-business candidates for future elections.
Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office, provided an outline of various proposals of federal legislation that would have a detrimental impact on the Ohio metal casting industry. Key points of her presentation are provided below: 1. According to public polling, only 24% of the American public is satisfied with the current state of affairs and “change” is the watchword of the presidential candidate campaigns. Since we will have a new President and potential changes in Congress in January 2009, change could indeed be in our future. 2. Unfortunately, some of that change could be very harmful to the Ohio metal casting industry. The top priority of organized labor in 2009 will be the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” (EFCA), which was introduced and passed in the House in 2007, but failed to obtain adequate votes to stop a filibuster in the Senate. The EFCA would deny employees the fundamental right to a secret ballot election administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) during a union recognition campaign. Instead, workers would be subject to a “card check” process, with the risk of public or private intimidation and coercion. This bill would surely lower the bar for union organizers and if passed and signed by the new President would likely trigger union organizing drives throughout the country in all industries. 3. Importantly, under EFCA, once workers decide to form a union and card check recognition is granted, the bill would impose compulsory binding arbitration on the workers and employer after only 120 days of contract negotiations. This would be an unprecedented government intrusion into the right to bargain freely over working terms and conditions. The bill would also dramatically increase penalties for employers who try to discourage employee organizing for certain actions such as threatening to close the plant or to move operations oversees or for prohibiting employees from wearing union organizing buttons or having union organizing literature displayed at their workstation. 4. In reaction to a series of decisions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in which it ruled that many charge nurses are supervisors, even though they have no authority to hire, fire, or discipline other employees, organized labor has recruited former presidential candidate Senator Chris Dodd to introduce the “Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Trade Workers Act or “RESPECT Act”. The RESPECT Act would amend the definition of supervisor under the NLRA by deleting the terms “assign” and “responsibly to direct” from the definition of supervisor, terms the NLRB expanded to justify its rulings. The bill would also require that for a worker to be labeled a supervisor, he or she must spend the majority of the workday in a supervisory capacity. 5. Another key area of concern is the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that was enacted in 1993. Employers with over 50 employees must offer employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a child, a serious illness, or to care for a family member with a serious illness. Proposals to expand FMLA include legislation that would require paid time instead of unpaid time, and would broaden the uses of FMLA. For example, a bill has been offered that would allow the use of FMLA leave for an employee to receive or to give to his/her child literacy training. 6. A bill sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) in the House and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) in the Senate would mirror the potential impact of the Healthy Families Act initiative in Ohio. Under the proposal employers are mandated to provide seven days of paid sick leave for serious illness or to care for a family member with a serious illness, or really anyone with a relationship to the employee probably including their neighbor. Truly troubling is a provision in the proposal that allows for intermittent leave, meaning that an employee can take the leave in the smallest increments he or she gets paid. Under this bill, employees could use this leave to show up late to work and still get paid. Finally, this bill would prohibit employers from eliminating or redesignating current paid leave provisions if that paid leave does not strictly designate at least 7 days of paid sick leave. 7. A bill introduced by Sens. Dodd (D-CT) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) would require businesses with 50 or more employees to offer eight (8) weeks of paid leave for FMLA reasons. The bill would create a Family Leave Insurance Fund that would provide funds for the payout. Employees and employers would be required to pay premiums into the fund, roughly 0.2 per cent of the employee’s earnings. The benefits would be based on the employee’s wages. 8. One of the most discouraging proposals offered during this Congress is one that would greatly expand the definition of “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A key provision of this bill would ensure that a person who uses “mitigating” measures such as a hearing aid, a prosthetic limb, or medication would be protected under the ADA. The bill would also clarify that adverse treatment based on the mitigating measure itself or a side effect, such as fatigue from taking medication for the disability, could constitute discrimination. 9. This bill would change the definition of disability so that any individual with an impairment, such as poor eyesight correctable by wearing glasses, would be considered disabled and would trigger the employer’s duty to accommodate. The employer community is starting to mobilize to defeat this proposal, but it will be incredibly difficult to go against the powerful disability lobby. Unfortunately, many lawmakers do not understand the extent to which this proposal would change the current law. 10. Another bill would require that mental health benefits, including substance abuse treatment, be equivalent to medical and surgical benefits with regard to deductibles, co-payments, annual and lifetime limits and other financial requirements. It would also require parity with regard to frequency of treatment, number of visits, number of hospital days covered and other treatment limitations. Exempts employers with less than fifty (50) employees. The House version of this bill has more than 270 sponsors and is expected to pass. 11. Another threat to Ohio metal casting actually emanates from Congress’s effort to make mining safer. The Supplemental Miners Act contains a provision that would substitute NIOSH recommended exposure limits for the rule-making process that establishes Personal Exposure Limits or PELs. If enacted this bill would set a dangerous precedent for OSHA rules since it totally eliminates the normal rule-making process to establish safety limits. 12. OSHA recently issued a rule pertaining to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that establishes that employers are responsible for paying for this equipment for all employees required to use the equipment. PPE such as safety shoes and eyeglasses may be exempt from payment if the employee is able to use this equipment outside of work. 13. OSHA is still expected to push for a new crystalline silica rule and it remains a regulatory priority. However, no significant action is expected in 2008. Depending upon the outcome of the presidential election, the ergonomics rule may be resurrected by OSHA if a Democrat is serving in the White House. 14. On Climate Change the most likely proposal expected to receive serious consideration is the America’s Climate Security Act of 2007. This proposal along with several others will be debated in early February 2008. This bill would require U.S. companies to reduce carbon emissions to 15% below 2005 levels by 2020 and to 70% below 2005 levels by 2050. 15. This year’s AFS Government Affairs Conference will be held in Washington DC April 9-11, 2008. This is your opportunity to express your concerns about many of these proposals and to educate your Congressional leaders about the potential impact of these proposals on your ability to compete and to stay in business.
Jeet Radia, VP for EHS, McWane, Inc., described the “turnaround” at McWane, Inc. in the areas of Environmental, Health, and Safety management. In 2003, a series of very negative articles about McWane, Inc. and its environmental and safety practices were published in the New York Times in conjunction with a similarly negative presentation on PBS television. Top management at McWane, Inc. stated at the time “the company was not where it needed to be regarding environmental and safety practices. Key points of the presentation are presented below: 1. McWane, Inc. is a family-owned business founded in 1921 in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a leading provider of water, sanitation, fire, and safety infrastructure products with more than 7500 employees worldwide. The company had a tremendous growth spurt from 1975 when it was composed of four facilities to 2007 when it had grown to twenty-five (25) facilities. 2. Although the company had begun to address some of its EHS shortcomings prior to the 2003 public relations problem, the EHS vision of McWane, Inc. changed fundamentally subsequent to that time. The goals outlined by top management were set forth as 1) best in class; 2) beyond compliance expectations, 3) management commitment, and 4) employee involvement. To insure that these changes were made, EHS personnel now report directly to top management at each worksite. Additionally, there is more corporate control at each EHS level. Finally, McWane, Inc. benchmarked with other companies with similar problems. 3. The “Turn Around” depended upon Five Key Elements: o Increased expertise; 4. To address the goal of increased expertise, McWane, Inc. recruited some of the most respected EHS experts in the country. For example, Pat Tyson, former Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA and former Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Safety Council was brought on board. Former Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA John Henshaw was also recruited. Finally, a number of former OSHA Area Directors were hired. 5. McWane, Inc. also looked for expertise outside of the company developing relationships with AFS, Broadspire (now Bureau Veritas), and ESIS. In the environmental area F. Henry Habicht, former Deputy Administrator of the USEPA, John S. Sietz, former Director of the Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards, Office of Air Radiation, and Frank. B. Friedman, former VP of EHS Compliance for Occidental Chemicals were recruited as consultants. Finally, well-known consulting firms such as Keramida Environmental, Inc., Kestrel Management Services, and RMT, Inc. were utilized. 6. The presentation included organization charts revealing many new positions and new hires in the EHS category. Summarizing the internal organizational changes: 90% of senior management is new and 200 people or positions with EHS & HR responsibilities have been added. At the facility level, over 85 new health and safety positions have been added since 1999 and over 40 new environmental positions have been added. Finally, McWane, Inc. changed the reporting procedure for EHS so that these individuals are now reporting directly to the senior manager on-site. 7. Another key element of the “turn-around” was the development of an EHS culture. McWane, Inc. centralized EHS/HR at the corporate level, but maintained the entrepreneurial spirit at the site locations. McWane, Inc. wished to move from a “Traditional EHS” Approach to a “Management System Approach”. 8. The Traditional Approach can be viewed as reactive, fire fighting, and short-term in nature. Using this approach the EHS personnel would be involved in correcting specific hazards, making ad hoc improvements, and focusing upon compliance. 9. The Management System Approach is viewed as proactive, strategic, and long-term in nature. In this case, EHS personnel emphasize the elimination of root causes of hazards, there is an explicit goal of constant improvement, and the goal is to exceed compliance requirements. 10. Building an EHS culture also necessitated the development of EHS values with strong corporate oversight of EHS & HR responsibilities. Active employee involvement was required and encouraged with an EHS brochure that was distributed to all employees with sign-off. Additionally, a comprehensive ethics and compliance policy was developed and facility EHS goals were linked to corporate objectives. 11. For example, following the implementation of these changes, manager’s annual performance evaluations and ratings included EHS accomplishments and senior management bonuses were tied closely to EHS performance (25%). To more closely monitor these improvements, McWane, Inc. created monthly report cards for EHS that included areas such as audit results, use of Medgate and opsEnvironmental software, injury reduction plans, and reduction in injury rates. 12. Another accomplishment in the creation of an EHS culture was the establishment of McWane University where executive leadership, managers, and supervisors would exchange ideas and develop new ways to work together. Topics of discussion included ethics, importance of compliance, safety as a value, and organizational changes. 13. The third key element of the McWane Inc. program is its EHS Management System. The web-based, electronic system provides coordinated and consistent means for each facility to assess, measure, document, report, and continuously improve EHS protection. 14. The system includes web-based software tools, policy directives, procedures & work instructions. Also measuring, tracking, and reporting systems are included and all drive continuous improvement. The software packages were purchased in 2004 at a cost of approximately $1 million each. o Health and Safety Database software – Medgate 15. In addition to the creation of the web-based electronic EHS Management System, McWane, Inc. also developed and implemented significant training modules for both Health & Safety and Environment. 16. The fourth key element of the McWane, Inc. program is the development of a strategic approach to HR. In 2005, the company implemented “Casting Leadership Excellence” a 3-day leadership-training course developed for managers by Dale Carnegie. To date, more than 1000 managers have attended the training. 17. Other strategic initiatives included the establishment of a 24-hour toll free employee hotline, standardization of the management performance evaluation program, and the creation of a company-wide Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Prospective HR initiatives include: online compliance training, Workforce Development Project, and Comprehensive Training Matrix. 18. The fifth and final key element of the McWane, Inc. program is enhanced employee, community, and regulatory outreach. To promote external communications McWane, Inc. employees have participated in national, regional, and local safety conference presentations and participated in EHS organizations including the National Safety Council. 19. To expand their regulatory outreach, McWane, Inc. representatives have participated in meetings with the Assistant Secretary of Labor, OSHA Regional Administrators, and State OSHA Administrators. Each McWane, Inc. facility has been encouraged to develop a positive relationship with local OSHA Area Office personnel. In the environmental arena, McWane, Inc. representatives have met with senior management at USEPA, with USEPA Regional Administrators, and with individual state regulators. 20. To enhance its standing in the individual communities where McWane, Inc. facilities are located, the company has created Community Advisory Panels (CAP) that provide forums for meeting stakeholders and enable relationship building. CAP meetings provide for discussion of operational questions and/or concerns of the community. CAPs have been formed in Alabama, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. 21. The achievements of the McWane, Inc. program have been noteworthy. Since 2002 U.S. facilities have reduced their Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Days Away/Restricted Transfer (DART), and Days Away from Work (DAFW) rates by 29,7%, 27.6 %, and 47.3%, respectively. 22. For the McWane, Inc. foundries at year-end 2006, the facilities had below industry averages for TRIR, DART, and DAFW. McWane, Inc. has become a member of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Less than 2% of the nation’s employers are VPP sites. 23. Environmental compliance gains have also been made. According to third party environmental compliance auditors, McWane, Inc. has improved its “A” grades by 400% while eliminating its “D” grades from 2004 to 2006. ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE
OCMA Vice President for Environmental Affairs, Ryan Burke, OSCO Industries, Inc. presented the environmental report. The PowerPoint environmental report is available from the OCMA office, just call or e-mail. Key issues are outlined below: Area Source Rule for Iron & Steel Foundries • USEPA signed the final Area Source Rule for Iron & Steel
Foundries on December 15, 2007, and published it in the Federal
Register on January 2, 2008. This rule will apply to area sources;
those with a potential to emit less than 10 tons/yr for a single
HAP or less than 25 tons/yr for any combination of HAPs. According
to USEPA data, over 400 foundries will be affected. Foundries are
either area sources or covered by MACT. There is no in between. • All foundries must prepare and operate according to written material specifications. Foundries can comply with the requirement by using restricted metallic scrap defined as scrap containing no auto shred and use of only metal ingots, pig iron slitter or other materials that do not include post-consumer automotive scrap, engine blocks, oil filters, oily turnings, lead components, chlorinated plastics, or free organic liquids. No other requirements would apply. • Those foundries using general iron and steel scrap (i.e. contains auto scrap) are required to have a written specification. Scrap charged to a scrap preheater (w/o aft) or melting furnace must be depleted of (to the extent practicable) of used oil filters, chlorinated plastic parts, accessible lead-containing components, and free liquids. For charging with a cupola with an afterburner, scrap must be depleted (to the extent practicable) of chlorinated plastics, accessible lead-containing components (batteries and wheel weights) and free liquids. A foundry can have a hybrid plan, part restricted and part general. • The final rule allows an additional year for foundries to comply with the Mercury Switch Removal requirements because USEPA believes this additional time will allow scrap dealers to adopt an approved mercury switch removal program. At that point there are three choices of compliance available: • Site Specific Plan that includes a specification for removal
of “convenience” mercury switches; a communication
to scrap suppliers to ensure removal and proper disposal per RCRA;
provisions for obtaining assurance of removal, periodic inspections,
site visits, proper disposal, frequency of inspection and corrective
action. Plan must also include a requirement of scrap suppliers
to provide estimate of switches removed with a goal of 80% removal.
Finally, a semi-annual report with number of switches removed or
weight of switches, number of vehicles shredded, percentage of
switches removed, and a certification of recycling. Semi-annual reports are required for all of these options. Foundries must comply with these requirements by January 1, 2010. • The final rule also prohibits the use of methanol as a specific ingredient of the catalyst formulation for furfuryl alcohol warm box mold or core making systems. The prohibition does not apply to the resin portion of the binder system. Documentation is required for this requirement and foundries must comply by January 2, 2009. • The area source rule also contains additional record keeping requirements. Monthly melt production must be recorded. Any deviations from pollution prevention practices are to be reported in the semi-annual report. Records must also be kept of quantity and composition of each HAP-containing chemical binder or coating material used to make molds and cores. These records must include copies of purchasing orders, MSDS’s or other records that provide data on binder materials. These records must be kept a minimum of five years and the first compliance date is January 2, 2009. • Large foundries under the rule must comply with all of the requirements set forth for small foundries as well as several additional requirements. Most importantly, USEPA is proposing all furnaces (including Electric Induction Furnaces (EIFs) in large foundries must meet a limit of 0.80 lbs PM/ton of metal or 0.06 lbs/ton metallic HAP limit. A new source will be required to meet a 0.1 lbs PM/ton or 0.008 lbs/ton total metal HAPs. Foundries with uncontrolled EIFs could be forced to install pollution control equipment (baghouse) to meet this limit. The AFS Area Source Working Group estimated that approximately 39 iron facilities and 13 steel facilities could be affected by this rule. • The area source rule does provide for the averaging of controlled and uncontrolled furnaces together. USEPA set the default emissions from an uncontrolled EIF at 1.6 lbs of PM per ton of metal charged. If a foundry does use averaging, it must do it on a monthly basis. • Fugitive Emissions – The opacity limit is a 20% opacity limit for each building or structure housing foundry operations. The rule allows for one six (6) minute average per hour that does not exceed 30%. The rule requires opacity testing every six (6) months using Method 22 if there are no visible emissions. If there are visible emissions then a Method 9 must be conducted within fifteen (15) days. • Large foundries must prepare and follow a written Operation & Maintenance Plan for control devices covered by the rule. O & M plan must include the following: • General facility information; Similar plans which address listed requirements may be used. Existing source can elect Bag Leak Detection System (BLDS); New Source must use BLDS. • The rule contains numerous monitoring requirements. For example, there must be initial and monthly inspections of PM control devices and capture systems. New sources must use CPMS to measure and record operating parameters of wet scrubbers and ESPs. Foundries must also prepare and operate to a Start-up, Shutdown, and Malfunction Plan. • Fugitive Emissions – The opacity limit is a 20% opacity limit for each building or structure housing foundry operations. The rule allows for one six (6) minute average per hour that does not exceed 30%. The rule requires opacity testing every six (6) months using Method 22 if there are no visible emissions. If there are visible emissions then a Method 9 must be conducted within fifteen (15) days. • Large foundries must prepare and follow a written Operation & Maintenance Plan for control devices covered by the rule. O & M plan must include the following: • General facility information; Similar plans which address listed requirements may be used. Existing source can elect Bag Leak Detection System (BLDS); New Source must use BLDS. • The rule contains numerous monitoring requirements. For example, there must be initial and monthly inspections of PM control devices and capture systems. New sources must use CPMS to measure and record operating parameters of wet scrubbers and ESPs. Foundries must also prepare and operate to a Start-up, Shutdown, and Malfunction Plan.
Russ Murray, OCMA, provided the report. • Ohio EPA is the process of responding to comments on the beneficial reuse rules that were proposed in late 2006 and upon which OCMA commented. Director Korleski has instructed the surface water staff to have a new proposal early in 2008. • OCMA membership was reminded of their critical role in pushing the envelope for beneficial reuse of spent, non-toxic foundry sand. In 2001, OCMA, working with GM-Powertrain-Defiance and the FIRST Project, encouraged Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo) to promote congressional funding of research by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) USDA to determine whether spent, non-toxic foundry sand could be safety used for agricultural and horticultural applications. Seven years and millions of taxpayer dollars later, ARS is completing its research and the outcome is a welcome one. OCMA members should be proud of their role in this watershed event. • On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at the Beneficial Use of Industrial Materials Summit in Denver, Colorado, Rob Dungan, Project Leader, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Rufus Chaney, a renowned soil scientist, also from (ARS), will report on their foundry sand research. Based upon Dr. Chaney’s presentation at the AFS EHS conference last October, we can expect that the research will show that spent, non-toxic foundry sand is indeed, cleaner than dirt!
EMTEC Report Nick Cannel has left EMTEC and joined buyCASTINGS.com where he plans to continue participating in AFS and OCMA activities. Energy Report Larry Boyd, Energy Industries of Ohio (EIO), provided the energy report. Highlights are outlined below: • EIO has won a grant from US DOE to provide companies with assistance in improving the efficiency of their process heating operations. Under the grant, EIO may assist up to six (6) companies and the focus will be on metal casting, glass, and forging industries. • EIO is to conduct six Process Heating Assessment and Survey Tool (PHAST) assessments at participating companies. EIO will also provide up to forty (40) hours of engineering assistance for implementation of assessment recommendations. EIO is to provide follow-up at each facility at six (6) months, twelve (12) months, and eighteen (18) months to document implementation. • A team composed of a DOE Qualified Specialist and Plant Personnel will perform the PHAST assessments. Plant personnel will be trained on the use of the DOE PHAST tool that will provide the efficiency recommendations. The assessment will utilize three (3) days of in-plant work. • Any company interested in applying for a PHAST assessment
should contact Larry Boyd, EIO, at 216-323-1898 or boyd@energyinohio.com.
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