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NAHB Provides Safety Training as OSHA Steps Up Inspections of Home Building Sites

In Arkansas, where OSHA’s Local Emphasis Program is in the process of stepping up random inspections of home building sites, NAHB in early September provided 70 members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Little Rock with a four-hour course on developing and implementing an effective and easily understood home building safety and health management program. (To read a related story in the Sept. 16 issue of NBN, click here.)

In addition to this training, NAHB conducted a seminar for 150 members of the Twin Lakes Home Builders Association in Mountain Home, AR, on “Recognizing the ‘Big Four’ Safety Hazards for the Home Building Industry.”

Another 60 members of the association in Little Rock are scheduled to participate on Oct. 28 in training on the "Big Four" hazards.

With funding from an OSHA training grant, NAHB developed the six-hour seminar to train builders, subcontractors, their supervisors and their workers on the four most recognized hazards in the construction industry — falls, electrocutions, caught-in’s and struck-by’s. They account for 90% of the injuries and fatalities among residential construction workers.

The course also teaches participants how to develop and implement an effective, written company safety and health program. Adopting one of these programs can help companies qualify for OSHA’s focused inspection program, targeting only the “big-four” hazards.

The course is now available through NAHB’s University of Housing at the request of home builders associations.

In addition to Arkansas, OSHA has been stepping up its scrutiny of home building sites in Florida and Connecticut, and under the Local Emphasis Program it can decide to focus on any areas of the country where it has concerns over safety issues. Citations for non-compliance with OSHA regulations can carry hefty fines.

NAHB has worked with OSHA to provide members of the association and others in the industry with information, training opportunities and guidance that will help them protect the health and safety of their employees. To learn more about this comprehensive alliance, click here.

For information on the many OSHA standards that apply to the residential construction industry, hazards in home building and their solutions, and developing and implementing a safety program, click here.

To find out more about scheduling an NAHB safety training program in your area, e-mail George Middleton at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8590.

Also in this issue: to read how the Wichita Area Home Builders Association developed safety programs and cooperated with OSHA to improve jobsite safety, click here.

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