Home Builders Continue OSHA Alliance to Improve Wo
Washington, DC, October 20, 2005--An ongoing working alliance between the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was cemented by way of a formal re-signing ceremony attended by leaders of both organizations yesterday. This alliance was first initiated in May of 2003.
“Training and education are by far the best way to promote worker safety on construction sites,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson, a custom home builder from Ketchum, Idaho. “This agreement is another illustration of the private sector working jointly with the government to identify and eliminate hazards that are responsible for the majority of serious injuries on home building job sites.”
Doing the honors for the federal agency was Jonathan Snare, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, and signing for the home builders was Andy Anderson, 2005 Chairman of the NAHB Construction Safety and Health Committee. NAHB comprises 220,000 builders and housing-related professionals across the country.
A particular focus of the alliance this year will be on identifying and abating major worksite hazards that cause the lion’s share of injuries, and on improving the information that employers and employees are given to help avoid such incidents. This includes the further development of safety training materials for non-English speakers and employees with limited English reading and speaking abilities.
“This is an outstanding example of the kind of voluntary, cooperative relationship between industry and government that just makes sense from any point of view,” said Wilson.
