OSHA and STEPS Promoting Oil Exploration Safety through February
By providing training materials and events to oil and gas exploration sites in five states, OSHA and STEPS work to improve safety at worksites.
OSHA and STEPS – the National Service, Transmission, Exploration & Production Safety Network – are sponsoring a movement to promote safety and health practices at oil and gas production worksites in five states.
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas are all participating in this safety-awareness venture lasting until Feb. 28.
In this safety stand-down, training events are offered at worksites. Additionally, some companies have already volunteered for inspections. OSHA and STEPS are both providing training materials and assistance to companies that are seeking to improve safety.
"This safety stand-down is an important effort to bring heightened safety and health awareness for workers in the oil and gas industry to identify and eliminate work-related hazards," said John Hermanson, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas, said in a statement on the OSHA website. "There is tremendous value in dedicating time during a workday to make a concerted effort to provide training."
STEPS is an joint venture between OSHA and those in the oil and gas industry seeking to lower fatalities and injuries, founded out of south Texas in 2003.
Organizations that are interested in this safety stand-down can complete commitment forms and find more information on the OSHA Education Center at the University of Texas at Arlington website.