Safety Pact Signed for Scott Air Force Base Construction Project
OSHA has partnered with the Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and River City Construction LLC in Peoria, Ill., to focus on the safety and health of all construction workers during the Scott Air Force Base construction project.
River City is the lead contractor during the U.S. Transportation Command construction project at the base in Belleville, Ill. The $93.6 million, 180,000 square-foot building project will house the U.S. Transportation Command, the U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2010.
The partnership requires each organization to contribute to the development of training sessions and materials to improve workplace safety and health. The groups will share resources and information to raise awareness of and commitment to construction safety.
"We believe this partnership will foster a working relationship that will ensure employers develop effective safety and health programs, and make employees aware of work hazards and ways to prevent serious injuries," said Nick Walters, OSHA's area director in Peoria.
OSHA's Strategic Partnership Program is part of the agency's ongoing efforts to improve the health and safety of employees through cooperative relationships with trade associations, labor organizations, employers, and employees. More than 1.4 million employees and nearly 28,000 employers across the United States have participated with OSHA in more than 585 strategic partnerships since the program began in 1998.