HANMI, OSHA link up to promote safety

The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands has entered into a partnership agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration to further enhance the industry’s efforts at ensuring employee safety.

Lynn Knight, HANMI chairwoman, recently signed the agreement and transmitted the first set of applications from the association’s members to OSHA’s Region IX Administrator Frank Strasheim, who is based in San Francisco, California.

The initial HANMI members which have volunteered up for the partnership include the Century Hotel, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach, Aqua Resort Club, and World Resort.

“We are looking forward to this partnership with OSHA, which we think makes good business sense and demonstrates our sincere commitment to caring for the safety and health of our people. We do business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and there’s a wide variety of jobs and work settings within our hotels that will be reviewed for proper safety conditions,” said Knight.

According to Knight, the program is addition to other educational efforts HANMI is undertaking within its membership and with other government organizations like the local Emergency Management Office regarding general safety preparedness.

“Given recent natural disasters, terrorism and other safety issues around the world, we feel it is a good time to update our knowledge and plans as part of our efforts in ensuring that we are a safe destination that’s well prepared to care for our visitors and employees alike,” Knight added.

Membership in the HANM-OSHA Partnership is on a strictly voluntary basis. HANMI members which choose to be part of the partnership are required to fill out an application that focuses on the company’s commitment to maintain a safe working place and living quarters for its employees; safety and health inspections; training and education of employees about health and safety programs and their rights and responsibilities under OSHA; record keeping and injury-illness analysis; sanitation at the workplace and company-provided housing; fire safety and more.

The agreement stipulates that OSHA “agrees to a limited partnership with HANMI in the interest of achieving enhanced and voluntary safety and health in the workplace and in company-provided staff housing through the establishment of monitored and maintained safety and health programs for select hotel owners.”

The overall purpose, states the agreement, “will be to prevent injuries and illnesses to workers in the workplace, to eliminate the risk of catastrophic fires, and to ensure healthy and sanitary living conditions in company-provided staff housing by establishment of model workplaces and staff housing for safety and health.”

HANMI members willing to meet the criteria of the partnership agreement will receive OSHA assistance and annual verification inspections in accordance with approved protocols and in lieu of programmed inspections.

The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1985 to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas and common issues for the CNMI’s hotel industry.