Builders, Contractors Use OSHA Training Grant to Prevent Accidents

Sept. 21, 2000
Associated Builders and Contractors will use grant money it received from OSHA to develop safety awareness training in Spanish for construction workers in North Texas.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) North Texas is one of 15 non-profits in the United States to receive a strategic plan grant from OSHA.

The funds will be used to develop and deliver safety awareness training in Spanish to the construction workers in the North Texas area.

The program will focus on OSHA standards addressing falls, struck-by, caught-between and electrocution construction hazards.

"These four major construction hazards have contributed to the increase in construction fatalities in North Texas this past year," said Frank Dale, president of ABC North Texas and Frank Dale Construction.

Increased construction activity and the growing Hispanic workforce prompted ABC to conduct focus groups with Hispanic workers earlier this year to determine the challenges encountered for skilled training.

"It became apparent very quickly that we had to develop bilingual training and find a way to deliver it outside of the traditional classroom setting," said Dale. "When OSHA requested training proposals in the area of safety, we saw a prime opportunity to serve the industry."

The grant will fund ABC''s efforts to develop training modules in Spanish to address the four major construction hazards, and deliver the training in two phases, said Paula Clements, ABC executive director.

The full course will be delivered to construction supervisory personnel in a classroom setting through ABC''s training arm, the Construction Education Foundation.

"Our objective here is to create awareness of the bilingual training for supervisory field personnel," said Clements.

The second phase is to select several large construction sites in North Texas and partner with the general contractor to deliver the bilingual safety training to work crews on the job site.

"We discovered that scheduling and transportation are two other impediments to training for the growing Hispanic construction workforce," said Clements. "We believe that if we take the training to the job site in increments, specifically two-hour modules targeted to a particular task and hazard, we will reach a larger portion of the Hispanic workforce with core safety training."

All program participants will receive documentation of their training.

Once the training dates are established, notices will be published on ABC''s Web site at www.abcnt.org.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

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EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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