OSHA Renews Alliance With SIA

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has renewed its alliance with the Scaffold Industry Association Inc. (SIA), designed to protect the safety and health of workers who work on scaffolds from falls and other deadly hazards.

“The materials developed through our alliance are valuable resources for training and educating workers on the hazards they can face in their jobs and how they can be prevented,” says Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Four of the 10 most frequently cited OSHA construction standards involve scaffolding, so renewing this alliance is a great opportunity to build on our work to better protect the men and women who work on scaffolds.”

Since the nationwide alliance was first signed in 2008, OSHA and SIA have developed Transport Platforms and Mast Climbing Work Platforms safety materials relating to scaffold and fall hazards, as well as applicable American National Safety Institute (ANSI) consensus standards. Several of these products have been translated into Spanish and Portuguese.

Goals of the renewed alliance include increasing awareness of OSHA’s rule making and enforcement initiatives, developing new, effective training and education programs, and conducting outreach and communication activities on workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities. The organizations will continue to emphasize scaffold safety, including issues related to mast climbing scaffolding, suspended scaffolding, and aerial lift equipment

OSHA Says Builders Need Safety Knowledge

Fall protection standards are tightening for home builders nationwide, and Minnesota is enforcing greater compliance before the national deadline. According to a top safety publishing executive, the key to meeting these tight compliance deadlines lies in a firm commitment to safety training.

"The new fall-protection compliance deadlines set by both OSHA and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry are extremely tight," says Benjamin Mangan, president of MANCOMM, a national safety and compliance publishing company. "Busy residential building contractors may find these deadlines daunting, but as with most business initiatives, knowledge is power. The first step to meeting these compliance objectives lies in training workers immediately so that everyone is on the same page. When it comes to safety, everyone has to see eye-to-eye. Teamwork is absolutely essential."

Compliance Deadlines

On June 9, 2011, OSHA announced a three-month phase-in period to allow residential construction employers to come into compliance with regulation 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13), requiring home builders to provide residential construction workers with fall protection. Nationally, the phase-in period runs June 16 to Sept. 15, 2011. Home builders have been following an old OSHA directive, STD 03-00-001, and during the phase-in period, OSHA will not issue citations, but will instead issue hazard alert letters to employers, informing them of methods they can use to update their compliance.

Sept. 15 may seem like a tight deadline, but in Minnesota, the deadline already has been passed. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry stepped up the deadline in their state, stating that "Effective June 16, 2011, employers must follow 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13), which states each employee engaged in residential construction activities six feet (1.8 m) or more above lower levels shall be protected by a guardrail system, safety net system or personal fall-arrest system unless another provision in paragraph (b) of this section provides for an alternate fall-protection measure."

A Strict But Necessary Measure

Mangan notes that, while these deadlines may seem strict, the resulting greater level of compliance is well worth the extra effort. "Inadequate fall protection in the workplace only leads to heavy OSHA fines – and worse, employee injuries and deaths," Mangan says.

The U.S. Department of Labor lists falls as one of the leading causes of traumatic occupational death, accounting for 8 percent of all workplace trauma fatalities. Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that more than one-third of the 645 work-related fatal falls in 2009 involved falls from roofs or ladders. According to OSHA, any time a worker is at a height of four feet or more, the worker is at risk and needs to be protected. Generally, fall protection must be provided at four feet in general industry, five feet in the maritime industry and six feet in construction. Regardless of the distance, fall protection must be provided when working over dangerous equipment and machinery.

To help companies stay compliant with OSHA and protect workers from fall-related accidents, MANCOMM has released Fall Protection: Complete OSHA Regulations, an updated version of a book they first published in 2006. Mangan noted that OSHA named Fall Protection as No. 2 on their list of the top 10 violated OSHA standards in 2010, with 6,771 violations.

“When the book was first released in 2006, Fall Protection was No. 2 on the list with 5,746 violations," he says. "It dropped to No. 3 in 2007 – and it is clear that greater vigilance is needed to make this chronic occupational hazard leave the list altogether. The current fall-protection compliance directives will help to reduce the number of fall-related injuries and deaths substantially."

Mangan adds that MANCOMM also has released a fall protection training guide, Subpart M: Fall Protection (1926.500), which can be used to instruct construction industry trainees. To learn more, visit Mancomm.com/Fall-Protection.aspx.

MSA Wins Packaging Award

MSA Safety Works was awarded the 2011 Environmental Packaging of the Year award by the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA.) This was awarded for the packaging of MSA Safety Works Espresso Polarized Safety Glasses. The packaging contains 8 percent less plastic and one-third less cardstock insert material than standard models of eyewear.

"We're especially proud and humbled to receive this NRHA award, as it represents an industry acknowledgement of our efforts to promote product packaging that makes sense for both MSA retailers and our end users," says John Quinn, MSA Safety Works' retail segment manager.

SAKRETE Participates in Charlotte Playground Build

In a matter of hours, an empty field became a new playground for Charlotte, N.C.-area school kids. SAKRETE volunteered for and sponsored the event, with the recent completion of the playground at Winding Springs Elementary School.

In January, SAKRETE presented the Carolina Panthers with a $3,100 check for the SAKRETE Sack Program, which benefits the Charlotte-area Business Volunteer Council (BVC), a coalition of local businesses which promote volunteerism. The BVC, in turn, uses these donations for the Charlotte Playground Build Program.

On April 13, 2011, the playground was built in less than seven hours. SAKRETE and more than 40 other sponsoring businesses and 200 volunteers came together to make the new playground a reality.

For the fifth year, SAKRETE made in-kind product donations, in addition to the monetary donation, to the BVC to be used toward the playground build. SAKRETE's in-kind donations consisted of volunteers to help with the construction, five pallets of Fast Setting Concrete Mix, twenty-five 60-pound bags of High Strength Concrete Mix and 23 pallets of mulch from the Lawn and Garden division of Oldcastle, the parent company of SAKRETE.

This year’s donation brings the company’s total cash contributions to nearly $90,000 since the SAKRETE Sack Program was launched in 2006.

“Being part of a playground build in our local community is one way in which we can give back,” says Johnsie Beck, president of SAKRETE North America. “This is the fifth year we’ve sponsored the SAKRETE Sack Program, and every year, we look forward to spending the day with other volunteers to build an amazing playground.”

To see SAKRETE images from the Charlotte Playground Build Program, visit http://goo.gl/mS9LL.

DSI Launches ID Badge System for Contractors

Dynamic Systems Inc. has created an ID Badge System for contractors that will identify temporary and permanent workers. Checkmate Construction ID System enables contractors to control who accesses jobsites, and prevents theft of supplies and equipment. Each Checkmate System includes a card printer, card stock, ribbons and camera, if needed. The badges can be either single- or dual-sided and include photos.

This program is targeted for contractors who want to control site access and reduce the loss of equipment and materials. It only requires a few minutes to print a badge and can help prevent theft.

“Loss of equipment costs multi-millions of dollars each year for the construction industry. Our customers see a payback of three to four months,” says Alison Falco, president of Dynamic Systems. Learn more at www.abarcode.com.

ACORD Workers' Comp Reporting Committee Announced

The ACORD Standards Committee approved the formation of a new Standards Program and Steering Committee for Workers' Compensation Reporting.

Ellen Sonkin, VP of the Regulatory Reporting Division of Chartis Insurance will chair the group. In her current role at Chartis, she is responsible for all Workers' Compensation Data reporting, including Financial Calls, Unit Statistical Reporting and Policy and Proof of Coverage Reporting.

The group's focus will be on continuing the development of the new ACORD Workers' Compensation Reporting XML Standard. The single XML standard will be an alternative to multiple EDI standards in use today. Efforts will focus solely on reporting and on ensuring that the ACORD XML Standard is synchronized with any changes to the EDI standards.

While work has been going on for some time with the Workers' Compensation Insurance Organizations (WCIO) and International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), the formation of this official Steering Committee will provide a more formalized and expanded structure to their activities.

At present, both North Carolina and Massachusetts are piloting the Notice of Assignment XML message already developed by the group.

"Now that the committee has been approved, we plan to move forward quickly and grow the group of experts involved," says Alan Stitzer, program manager, ACORD. "Workers' Comp reporting is a unique community and involves those working directly with state data collection organizations. We're asking all of the members to reach out to those in their organizations that may not be involved with ACORD today, but who are Workers Comp professionals and encourage them to get involved."

Brick NY to Honor Thompson

In October, the chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, William C. Thompson Jr., will be recognized for his long and distinguished record of public service to the City of New York and support of the brick industry and its participating unions at the Brick NY 2011 Awards. Sponsored by members of the Brick Industry Association’s New York/New Jersey Brick Distributor Council and the Associated Brick Mason Contractors of Greater New York, the biennial awards honor individuals and organizations who have contributed to the vitality and success of brick masonry construction in the New York area.

The Brick NY 2011 Awards also will honor, among others, seven New York City architects who have contributed to the infrastructure of New York. This year’s labor honoree will be Jerry Sullivan Jr., president of Bricklayers’ Local Union No. 1.

The awards dinner will take place Oct. 20, 2011. The remaining honorees will be announced in the near future. A list of 2009 honorees and more information about the 2011 event is available at www.gobrick.com/BrickNY.

Lang Receives ASTM Award

Nicholas R. Lang, manager of the Research and Development Laboratory at the National Concrete Masonry Association in Herndon, Va., has received the 2011 President’s Leadership Award from ASTM International.

Established in 2007, the President’s Leadership Award recognizes individuals early in their ASTM careers who have significantly advanced the Society’s mission through extraordinary accomplishment, example and vision. T. Russell Gentry, Ph.D., an associate professor in the School of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., also was honored this year.

Lang has been a member of ASTM International since 2006. He serves as a member at large on Committees C12 on Mortars and Grouts for Unit Masonry and C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units, and is chairman of Subcommittee C15.03 on Concrete Masonry Units and Related Units. He has chaired several C12 and C15 task groups, and also is a member of Committees C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates and E06 on Performance of Buildings.

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, Lang accepted the position of laboratory inspector at the ASTM International Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL) in Gaithersburg, Md. In 2006, he joined the National Concrete Masonry Association as a research engineer, and he assumed his current role in 2008. As manager of the Research and Development Laboratory, he oversees a staff of technicians and masons in evaluating the performance of concrete masonry products and wall systems in both a contract capacity and on behalf of the concrete masonry industry.