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The Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services (CIS) awarded 17 Consultation Education and Training (CET) grants totaling $1 million to promote workplace safety and health.
"The safety and health of our workers is vital to our state''s overall well-being," said CIS Director Kathleen Wilbur. "These grants are an excellent investment by the state to help employers protect their most valuable asset-their workers."
The CET grant program is part of the CIS Bureau of Safety and Regulation (BSR), which is responsible for administering the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA). The MIOSHA program is dedicated to increasing workplace safety and health.
The bureau''s CET Division provides direct staff assistance to employers in a variety of formats. The CET grant program provides additional options for safety and health education and training to employers and employees.
"These CET grants will help employers identify problem areas and find practical solutions," said BSR Director Doug Earle.
The 17 statewide projects will emphasize prevention strategies to reduce injuries and illnesses. Several of the grants will focus on ergonomics issues, particularly in the health care field. One grantee will develop a CD for emerging safety and health issues in the plastics industry.
Sixteen of the projects will focus on training programs. This year a research grant was approved which will measure and quantify the average noise level exposures of employees in the wood products industries. This research grant relates directly to one of MIOSHA''s strategic plan performance goals: to reduce noise induced hearing loss by 15 percent.
Many of the grants will focus on the five high-hazard industries identified by the MIOSHA strategic plan: construction, nursing and personal care facilities, metal forgings and stampings manufacturers, fabricated structural metal products companies, and the meat products industry. Most of the programs funded will develop educational materials and provide training on a wide range of safety and health services. Other grants include: workplace violence, safety and health training for workers affected by new technology, fall protection, safe work habits and hazard recognition, and health issues in the construction industry.
CET grants are awarded on a competitive basis to management/employer groups, labor/employee organizations, and not-for-profit organizations, such as universities, hospitals and service agencies.
by Virginia Foran