Since there are many dangers to working in construction, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is working to create safer environments for workers. The University of Maine has received a grant totaling $120,000 from OSHA to help accomplish this task. The grant will be used to create a program that will educate construction workers about the hazards involved with their jobs and how to avoid them.
Gary McGrane, OSHA project coordinator at UMaine, said he was excited about receiving the grant. “If we can make more people aware of their environment, we have really done a great service to our community.”
McGrane explained that there are three things covered in the research process. The first area to be looked at is identifying and abating hazards. “We hope to help minimize these hazards in the workplace,” McGrane said.
Bill Murphy, director of the Bureau of Labor Education, said that risks in the workplace are multiplied when construction contractors and employees work in hazardous manufacturing sites. The research being done on this project will analyze these sites and determine the problems that may arise, from actual case studies.
McGrane said that people just generally don’t understand these hazards, and that is what the research is trying to accomplish.
The second area covered is reviewing the rules and regulations of OSHA. Maine has already adopted the Federal OSHA rules and regulations. These rules will cover falls, electrocutions, caught-in and struck-by incidences – the major areas where serious and-or fatal injuries occur in the industry.
The third area is the development of a safety and health committee. “This will be a collaborative effort working with the workers and the managers,” McGrane said. “Awareness of the hazards really comes when the workers become involved.”
The information obtained through the case studies and study groups will be used in the presentation and education for all employees in the field of construction. There will also be a handbook to go along with the program. This handbook will illustrate the progress achieved by the research.
“We are trying to give a good overview as to past problems and hopefully prevent future problems,” McGrane said
Murphy said that the program includes signatory small-business contractors, construction trade unions and the university. The Bureau of Labor Education will be working with Labor Education and Development to deliver the program to 300 LEAD workers and employers at their job sites.
The grant received is the Susan Harwood Training Grant. The project is mainly funded by the grant, but the University of Maine is also augmenting it with in-kind services from the Bureau of Labor Education.
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