NAOSH Week Gets Underway Today
Thousands of occupational safety, health, and environmental members of the American Society of Safety Engineers are joining with OSHA Alliance Program partners, businesses, and organizations to promote workplace safety during this week's May 3-9 North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, which starts today and runs through May 9, and Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day, May 6.
The 98-year-old ASSE and its 32,000 OSH&E professional members are committed to protecting people, property, and the environment note that while they work to make sure that the millions of workers who go to work every day return home safely, injury and illness free, to their families and friends, 5,488 people died from on-the-job injuries in the United States in 2007 and millions more suffered from workplace injuries and illnesses.
"That number should be zero. We work every day to make sure workplaces are safe and secure for everyone," said ASSE President Warren K. Brown, CSP, ARM, CSHM. "NAOSH Week is a tool we use to reach a greater audience on why work safety is so important. We will also salute the hundreds of children who entered our 7th annual 'safety-on-the-job' poster contest aimed at illustrating safety on the job who will be in D.C. for the kick-off events. Their work captures in drawings what we do and see every day on the job. In essence, they are our legacy."
Many ASSE members and businesses are donating services and providing programs to support NAOSH Week in the United States, Canada, and Kuwait. For example, Lamar Outdoor Advertising donated 10 billboards now up in the towns of ASSE "safety-on-the-job" poster contest winners in Portage, Wis.; Greenwich, N.Y.; San Antonio, Texas; Evansville, Ind.; Pendleton, Ore.; Warm Springs, Va.; Gasport, N.Y.; Madison, Ala.; Winchester, Va., and Valrico, Fla. For the street locations, click here.
ASSE, OSHA, the American and Canadian Red Cross, and StayWell are providing a free "Protecting Workers on the Job" Web Expo on Wednesday, May 6, OSHP Day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT. The live event offers workplace emergency preparedness and safety information from experts, a virtual trade show, key issue discussions, and more. ASSE Senior Vice President-Elect/Region I Vice President Terrie S. Norris, CSP, ARM, CSPI, of CA, will present a program aimed at helping companies develop and implement effective safety processes that increase workplace safety and contribute positively to the bottom line. Go here to register. More information and tools can be found at www.asse.org/naosh09.
The Monday, May 4, national NAOSH kick-off events will be held at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. Capitol Building in the Mansfield Room. The "safety-on-the-job" kids' poster contest awards will be announced and prizes given along with an interactive panel discussion on best practices. More than 100 ASSE poster contest entrants and their families from across the country, along with ASSE members and retired safety professionals, will attend the events along with representatives from corporations and 65 other trade associations. In addition, some of the events planned across the country include:
- Ford Motor Company will hold a safety conference in Michigan with participants from their U.S. operations in attendance. Safety brochures and materials will be distributed at 80 of their plants/facilities countrywide and in Canada.
- The ASSE Valley Coastal Chapter will educate Brownie Troops on the history of work safety and present several types of personal protective equipment used to keep workers safe on the job--from hard hats to boots, ear plugs to safety goggles.
- Florida Disney's safety director sponsored hundreds of poster contest entries and is distributing safety materials to employees.
- The West Florida ASSE Chapter will hold a "Building Solid EH&S Skills" professional development conference May 7 at the University of South Florida - College of Public Health, in Tampa, Fla.
- The ASSE Hawaii Chapter, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division (HIOSH) are sponsoring a one-day safety workshop at the Hale Ikena Fort Shafter.
- Reid Gardner Station, a coal-fired electric generation facility located in Moapa, Nev., will promote NAOSH Week throughout its operations.
- The ASSE Oklahoma City Chapter has secured two billboards to promote NAOSH Week and work safety along with garnering support from the state of Oklahoma and the cities of Enid, Claremore, and Oklahoma City which provided proclamations recognizing NAOSH Week and safety professionals.
- The annual safety awards luncheon for more than 500 will be held in Austin, Texas, by the local ASSE Chapter.
- Oregon ASSE members will hold a construction safety symposium for more than 500 people.
- The 14th annual Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Conference will be held at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, VA, with ASSE and the VA Department of Labor and Industry to help educate employers and employees in developing safe and healthy work environments and to provide affordable safety and health training opportunities to employers, employees and safety and health professionals.
- Turner Construction Co. is donating several services and holding programs countrywide.
- The Architect of the U.S. Capitol (AOC) in Washington, D.C., will provide daily communications to all personnel with a brief safety discussion topic and include a copy of one of "safety-on-the-job" posters.
- Wisconsin employees of Liberty Mutual are having safety meetings with their customers and in their communities in an effort to increase awareness of work safety.
- The ASSE Kuwait Chapter sponsored more than 100 poster contest participants for the "safety-on-the-job" poster contest as a part of NAOSH Week. Mo Ishan Iqbal, 13, Kuwait, won second place in the 13-14 age group for his poster titled "Safety Blooms/Withers" and repeat winner Immanuel Adriana Rakshana, 11, Shuaiba, Kuwait, won third place in the 11-12 age group for her poster titled "Climb the ladder of safety for a joyous homecoming every day."
According to ASSE, the following companies are promoting NAOSH worldwide: AGC Associated General Contractors; American Industrial Hygiene Association; B&H Maintenance & Construction; BSCAI Association Headquarters Building Service Contractors Association International; BRACE; Ford Motor Company; Forging Industry Association; Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair; Disney's Animal Kingdom; Industrial Truck Association; JetBlue Airways; Lamar Advertising Company; National Chicken Council; The National Fire Protection Association; NORESCO; Sprint Nextel Corporation, Sprint Environmental, Health & Safety; Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association; Working Partners; U. S. Department of Labor; and many more.