Throughout the opening sessions of the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Construction Safety Symposium, leaders in the construction industry told the more than 300 attendees how proper training, identifying and reducing hazards, partnered with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) national and regional officials implementing and strengthening effective safety programs, and sharing profits with employees, have contributed to reducing injuries and fatalities.
The Director of the OSHA Directorate on Construction Safety Standards Russell ’Bruce’ Swanson told the attendees that there is a clear emphasis by OSHA to increase workplace safety by working directly with employers by providing safety knowledge and education rather than putting an emphasis on issuing citations.
"I am happy to report today that there has been a decrease in construction industry fatalities," Swanson said. "While employment in this industry continues to increase, fatalities have dropped. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 1999 there was a total of 1,190 construction industry fatalities, while in 2000 there were 1,154."
In response to an audience question on the status of an ergonomics standard, Swanson told the attendees that before September 11, OSHA was about to announce its next steps on the ergonomic standard. However, in light of the 9/11 attacks much of the administration’s focus has been on New York City and the relief and rebuilding efforts.
"We lost an office in New York City due to the attacks," Swanson said. "Luckily we did not lose any employees in that horrible tragedy. However, we have a large contingent of OSHA personnel working shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week at Ground Zero. We have reached out to members of professional organizations such as ASSE for volunteers to help in this process. Many people have stepped forward. And, we have a new found need for anthrax experts."
On the issue of the ergonomics standard, Swanson said that perhaps this December or January the Department of Labor might come out with guidance on the issue. He also noted, as did many presenters at the symposium, that ergonomics is an issue in the construction industry.
"I believe ergonomics will be recognized as a real life problem and that employers and safety professionals will work together in seeking remedies and reducing the risk," Swanson said. "OSHA will probably provide some outreach and educational programs. There probably will not be a mandatory standard."
Swanson noted that OSHA, now led by the new Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA John Henshaw, will be focusing on leadership; strong and fair enforcement; outreach, education and compliance assistance; partnerships and improving data collection.
With falls being the number two cause of death in the workplace, construction professionals learned new insight into developing a good fall protection system from many of the presenters. It was noted that sometimes a fall is due to an unstable structure. and that it is important to keep and look at the accident data. Daniel M. Paine, president of Innovative Safety Devices in Glastonbury, CT, and an ASSE member, stressed the importance of looking at fall protection as a management method, as well as taking an approach toward eliminating and preventing falls.
Safety Director of the W.S. Bellows Construction Corporation Tommy Lee, of Houston, TX, and Texas OSHA Regional Administrator John B. Miles noted in their presentation on Texas’ successful OSHA Construction Partnership that in the last year, construction fatalities in Houston have been reduced by 50 percent. "One of the reasons for this success is that the executives of our companies are actively involved in making sure that we continue being a partner," Lee said. "We’ve also seen strong support for this program from contractors and unions alike. Most people know that safety just makes good business sense."
"Last week OSHA Administrator Henshaw met with about 40 of us and noted that he would like to see partnerships such as the one we have in Texas expand throughout the country," Miles said.
Other topics on the two-day symposium schedule include crane safety; an update on the new OSHA steel erection standard due to go into affect January 18, 2002; preparing for confined space emergencies; OSHA recordkeeping; understanding Owner Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIP); and a panel discussion on construction safety.
For more information check ASSE’s web site at http://www.asse.org .
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