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OSHA Responds to NAHB Study of Construction Site Noise
A study showing that residential construction doesn’t generate enough noise to require home builders to comply with burdensome, unworkable and impractical regulations for their employees is another victory for the NAHB Construction, Safety & Health Committee on behalf of the association’s members.
“I must say, we’ve got a pretty good batting average right now,” said committee chair Vern Pottenger of Pottenger Construction in Beaufort, S.C. “I am proud of the work our committee has done on behalf of home builders to help keep regulatory excess at bay. It’s a real important win for housing affordability.”
The NAHB study demonstrates that average noise exposures for certain home building jobs fall below the current federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit and are also lower than average noise exposure for commercial construction. Following its review of the NAHB research last month, OSHA has put the issue on the back burner.
Additional information about how builders can apply the results of this study will be available soon. Examples are likely to include simple measures to reduce employee exposure to noise, such as keeping compressors, generators and other equipment a little farther from the house on the job site, said Rob Matuga, NAHB’s director of labor safety and health.
Among other positive developments on the safety committee’s agenda:
- Education Alliance. Developed in a partnership with OSHA, NAHB’s Jobsite Safety Video continues to play to a wide audience of residential construction workers in both the English and Spanish versions.
“Building a House,” an NAHB-designed seminar for OSHA staff designed to provide a basic knowledge of the home building process and key safety hazards associated with it, is gaining popularity. The Indiana Builders Association will sponsor the class for its state department of labor on May 24 and associations in Ohio and Alabama are also interested, Matuga said.
- Hexavelent chromium. The final OSHA standard on hexavalent chromium published in the Feb. 28 Federal Register excludes exposure to Portland cement in construction and other industries. Portland cement is a basic ingredient in cement and mortar.
The Construction, Safety & Health Committee meets May 11 during the NAHB spring board meeting in Washington.
For more information, e-mail Rob Matuga at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8507.
 Protect Your Workers and Your Profits
The “Jobsite Safety Video,” available through BuilderBooks.com, 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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