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St. Louis Builders Join With OSHA to Improve Safety
The Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis, in conjunction with the Carpenters District Council of Greater St. Louis and Vicinity, has entered into a partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration designed to help employees and workers identify and control hazards on the job site. The partnership is part of U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao's ongoing efforts to improve health and safety for workers through the agency’s Residential On-Site Safety Initiative (ROSSI).
A key goal of the partnership is to reduce and prevent the top causes of work-related fatalities identified by OSHA: falls, electrical hazards, moving equipment or machinery and workers who are caught between equipment.
Under the terms of the partnership, contractors will implement a safety and health program that will enable workers and supervisors to prevent injuries by identifying and correcting safety hazards before work begins.
Contractors have also agreed to conduct regular job site inspections and to train all their workers on safety hazards that typically occur on residential construction sites.
As an incentive for participating in the voluntary ROSSI program, OSHA will not conduct programmed inspections of partnership members for up to 12 months following the completion of an on-site verification inspection. However, inspections will still be conducted in response to reports of imminent danger, an employee complaint, a fatality or a catastrophic accident.
Participating contractors also will not be cited for less than serious violations that can be abated during an inspection and will receive reduced penalties for other safety and health violations.
The Wichita Area Builders Association and the Topeka Home Builders Association entered into similar agreements with OSHA last summer.
For more information, e-mail Rob Matuga at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8507.
‘NAHB-OSHA Jobsite Safety Handbook’ Available at BuilderBooks.com
“NAHB-OSHA Jobsite Safety Handbook,” available through BuilderBooks.com, presents the basic guidelines for establishing a safety and health program and identifies safe work practices that counteract the most common hazards found on residential job sites. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
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