Construction Safety


Startup Group Challenges Fairness of NCCCO Audits

Phillip S. Ezzell, a longtime trainer, is asking independent examiners, training companies, and user organizations to form the Crane Operator Examiners Association at a March 30 meeting in Las Vegas, Nev.

paving workers

Highways Agency Gets $26.6 Billion As Obama, Biden Visit

The first-ever joint visit by the sitting president and vice president to the U.S. Department of Transportation took place today, with Obama and Biden announcing $26.6 billion is now available to the Federal Highway Administration. Biden's office said the $28 billion in stimulus money going to states for road and bridge projects will lead to 150,000 jobs saved or created by the end of 2010.

Children's Poster Contest Promotes Sun Safety Awareness

The national winner will be announced on the first-ever (and henceforth annual) National Sun Safety Day ("Don't Fry Day")--May 22. Winning posters will receive state and national prizes, with the top national winner receiving a family trip to Disney World and a WeatherBug Tracking Station for his/her school.

The magazine has addressed the health and safety hazards encountered by American workers throughout its long history.

Living on the Edge

It is a dangerous business to make your living hundreds of feet off the ground. We’ve come a long way from the cavalier attitude so often depicted in the popular prints of the Rockefeller center construction project: the long line of ironworkers having their lunch on a suspended beam high above the ground.

Excavation Hazards Training for the Competent Person

The Construction Safety Council offers a free online course that requires six to eight hours to complete, depending on the study's existing knowledge of excavations. No college or CE credits are awarded for the course.

tower cranes in use at a construction site

AGC Offers Training on Major Hazards

The Associated General Contractors of America is offering Susan Harwood Grant training on Focus Four Hazards in Construction (falls, electrocutions, struck-by's, caught betweens) at 14 locations this year.

Excavation Firm's Citations Piling Up; Latest Nears $700,000

According to OSHA, A-1 Excavating has received 38 citations from the agency since 1982, including at least eight citations for hazards associated with potential cave-ins, and seven citations for having the spoil pile too close to the trench edge.

Competency Model Improves Training for New Workers

Released Jan. 12, 2009, by the U.S. Department of Labor and Associated General Contractors of America, the model gives educators a clearer picture of the skills students needed to succeed in construction careers.



DPA to 'Blaze a New Trail' with Safety Summit in Tucson

"Suppliers exhibit behind their tabletop booth, and after 15 minutes are up, each DPA member rotates to the next booth in their rotation order. You really accomplish a lot by the time the conference is over," said DPA Executive Director Zachary Haines.

Sheet Metal Fabricator Faces $273,000 in Fines for Asbestos Hazards

"The sizable fines proposed here reflect the fact that this company knew several of these critical safeguards were necessary yet chose not to provide them," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.

Ontario Safety Blitz Targets Construction Sites

During the safety "blitz," inspectors will pay particular attention to conditions that could result in workers being struck -- or trapped and crushed -- by moving equipment or improperly secured building materials.

ANSI Approves Acceptance Testing Specs Standard for Electrical Power Systems

"Anyone involved in the energization of electrical equipment should consider this document a must have," says Al Peterson, president of Utility Service Corporation.

Alabama Auto Parts Plant Cited for Lockout/Tagout Failures

In addition, one of the plant's maintenance providers has also been cited, in part for failing to adequately train employees to fight fires, which it contracted to do at the site.

Wind farm image taken by Ronnie Rittenberry.

New Standard in the Works for Constructing, Demolishing Wind Turbines

"The committee decided to develop this standard because of the national emphasis on green energy, recognizing that thousands of these 'green' structures are going to be built and, as such, present challenging safety and health issues," A10 Committee Chair Richard King said. "The purpose of the new standard is to sort out the safety and health issues and provide practical solutions to constructors."

NRC Issues Guidance on New Reactor Construction

The NRC’s interim staff guidance covers the activities that companies can request in applications for Limited Work Authorizations and Combined Licenses under the agency’s new reactor licensing process.

Warehouse Injury Reduction Focus of New Federal Alliance

The partners said they will work together to develop and distribute safety and health training materials for warehousing to enable employers and employees to implement and follow best practice standards and guidelines.

NY Facility Fined $56,000 Following Confined Space Fatality

The company was issued one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $35,000 alone, for not providing employees with confined space rescue training at least every 12 months.

Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Day Aims to Protect Employees

Making and keeping the workplace safe and healthful will be the focus of the 18th Annual Downstate Illinois Occupational Safety and Health (DIOSH) Day slated for March 4 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Ill. Workplace safety and health issues will be discussed and information made available to employers, employees and the general public.

NEP Unearths Trenching, Excavation Hazards in Arkansas

An investigation found alleged willful violations in the construction company's failure to provide training in avoiding hazards associated with working in trenches eight feet deep or more and failure to provide a means of egress while employees are working at excavation worksites that are four feet deep or more.

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