The Southwest Ohio office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will announce a program Monday to reward safe contractors with fewer job site inspections.

        “These are the best of the best,” said William Murphy, OSHA director for the Cincinnati-Dayton region. Eligible contrac tors must have a spotless safety record and a detailed training program in order to be considered for the pilot project.

        Contractors given OSHA's “star” designation would be scrutinized by inspectors only after a job-site accident or an employee's safety complaint.

        The pilot program allows OSHA inspectors to do more frequent inspections on companies with spotty safety records while allow ing reputable contractors to police themselves.

        If successful, the program could be repeated in other parts of the United States, Mr. Murphy said.

        Allied Construction Industries, a construction trade group, launched a similar safety program with OSHA more than one year ago. Large Tristate contractors, such as Turner Construction and Al Neyer Inc., have participated.

        Allied Construction director Judy Short said the program helped soften what can be an adversarial relationship between contractors and inspectors.

        “Companies feel like they can communicate with OSHA better,” Ms. Short said.

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