The event will include subcommittee and taskforce meetings on government, education, and construction industry performance, as well as an exclusive reception at Cincinnati's Newport Aquarium.
“OSHA needs to bring more attention to the worst actors among employers, but not at the expense of encouraging employers to be as good as they can be in managing occupational safety and health,” said ASSE President C. Christopher Patton, in a letter to Congress on Friday expressing concern over the proposed cutting of OSHA’s VPP and MSHA’s Small Mines Office.
The agreement, which includes 15 worksites and approximately 53 subcontractors, focuses in part on reducing exposure to hazards and incidence of serious injuries and fatalities.
The inspection was initiated under the agency's Construction Hazards Emphasis Program when an OSHA inspector observed employees working at heights of more than 14 feet without the use of fall protection.
"Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work, and employers must take all required steps to prevent and minimize this potentially deadly hazard," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. "Safe working conditions must not and can never be a matter of luck."
"Although management knew the existing sign needed to be removed or covered, they chose to ignore the requirement and put their employees in danger," said Darlene Fossum, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The agency needs nominees with experience and expertise in construction-related safety and health issues to fill two employee, two employer, one state safety and health agency, and two public representative seats to advise DOL on developing standards affecting the construction industry.
“Contractors are not going to be able to sustain the low prices they have been charging for much longer," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America.
"This is a landmark day in the history of Kansas City," EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said of the 25-year improvement plan. "This agreement charts a course for the largest infrastructure project in the city's history, and what we believe to be one of the largest municipal green infrastructure projects undertaken anywhere in the nation."
The technical amendment was added as a result of the May 15, 2004, collapse of a steel bridge beam onto an interstate highway in Colorado, killing three people in an SUV passing below.
During an inspection that was part of a regional emphasis program, investigators observed employees working without adequate protection on platforms as high as 20 feet.
One of the largest safety blitzes ever conducted by the province's Ministry of Labour resulted in 784 stop-work orders and 121 summonses issued for fall hazards on hundreds of construction sites.
People can tolerate extremes of hot and cold but tend to be more productive within a narrow range of conditions. An uncomfortable working environment unwittingly affects employee morale, playing a large role in the health and safety of those within.
“Our heat sweeps are designed not only to send employers a strong enforcement message but also to provide employers and employees with information they need to keep their workers safe," said Cal/OSHA Chief Len Welsh.
"While it's fortunate that no collapse occurred, excavation safety cannot rely on good fortune," said OSHA Area Director Brenda Gordon. "Required safeguards must be in place and in use at all times."
Among other violations, the company failed to provide workers with a fall arrest harness with a lanyard and did not adequately plank scaffolding during masonry work that reached as high as 24 feet, OSHA said.
The agency is hosting three meetings next month -- one on June 3 in East Brunswick, N.J., another on June 10 in Dallas, and the final on June 29 in Washington, D.C. -- to gather comments. Registration will remain open until the meetings are full.
The regional economy is weak and the city faces a big 2011 deficit, but an important new tenant is coming, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus announced. Meanwhile, contractor Perini Building Company took its fight public for $500 million it claims is owed by MGM/Mirage for the mammoth CityCenter project.
As a result of an October 2009 inspection in Cincinnati, OSHA issued Lowe's four willful citations with a proposed penalty of $40,000. Based on a November 2009 inspection, OSHA issued the Dayton store seven willful citations with a proposed penalty of $70,000.
This contractor has been inspected by OSHA 25 times since 1991 and has been issued numerous willful, serious, and repeat violations, including many lead violations, the agency said.