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NAHB Meets With OSHA Head to Advance Construction Safety
 In an ongoing effort to advance safety and health on the nation’s residential construction sites, representatives from NAHB met last month with Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
Foulke was sworn in on April 3 to his post as head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which has a staff of more than 2,200 professionals and support personnel.
”Our primary goal was to meet and greet and to find out what he thought OSHA’s priorities would be,” said Vern Pottenger of Pottenger Builders in Beaufort, S.C., chair of the NAHB Construction Safety & Health Committee.
The good news for NAHB members, Pottenger said, is that Foulke is keenly interested in continuing OSHA’s successful alliance with the association, which has produced a number of successful safety training materials for the home building industry and increased the agency’s understanding of the differences between residential and commercial construction and how the two should be regulated.
“He was extremely excited about our training program, not only the one we do for our members, but the training we’re doing for inspectors and administrators, taking them to our job sites. They’ve beginning to understand the residential side of the business because of our efforts, and he’d like us to continue these.” (For a related NBN story, click here.)
The NAHB-OSHA Jobsite Safety Handbook, available at BuilderBooks.com, has been practically flying off the shelves and is now in its second printing. The guide and a training DVD are available in English and Spanish versions.
NAHB currently is working on a second safety DVD and handbook that will focus on fall hazards encountered during home construction and best work practices — such as ways to work safely on ladders — that can reduce the risk of accidents and lower injury rates.
Also being prepared is a home builders’ safety program manual that will outline the steps for developing and launching a safety management program.
Both publications will be available in time for the 2007 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla.
Foulke also has accepted an invitation from NAHB to bring an OSHA team to next year’s show to staff a booth where builders can discuss safety and training issues with the experts.
“I think Mr. Foulke has a tremendously positive attitude, and a good vision of what his goals are and how they’ll come about,” Pottenger said. “Safety and health, of course, are primary, and we need to continue our full-force effort to make sure our builders and subcontractors understand how to do their jobs safely and in a productive manner.
“However, it’s important for OSHA to understand the vast differences between residential construction and the other industries it regulates, and Mr. Foulke complimented us on the work we’re doing to make those differences clear,” Pottenger said.
For more information on NAHB’s resources on construction safety and health, e-mail Rob Matuga, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8507.
 Protect Your Workers and Your Profits
The “Jobsite Safety Video,” available through BuilderBooks.com, is the first-ever job site safety video for home builders. The video provides an overview of the key safety issues residential builders and workers need to focus on to reduce accidents and injuries. Based on the “NAHB-OSHA Jobsite Safety Handbook,” this DVD is intended to be used as part of an essential residential construction safety-training program and includes two 20-minute videos.
To view or purchase this DVD online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
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