News Newsletter May 2010 A Word from the Chair: May is Safety Month
A Word from the Chair: May is Safety Month
Written by Pat Vlaminck
One of the reasons we feel strongly about safety is that we, like many contractors, know the families of our employees well. The Board of Directors has asked the staff to get NFPA 70E training to electrical contractors so we can protect employees from arc flash, ensure good safety procedures, and use of personal protective equipment. Members are now providing this training to their employees so please call the office for more information.
We have powerful advocates for safety at MN OSHA in the likes of Steve Sviggum, Patricia Todd, Andy Smoka, Bob Durkee and others. When asked about OSHA's goals for the year, Commissioner Sviggum said, "Minnesota is a safer place to work today. Our DLI goal is to make it safer tomorrow! While numbers are cold, hard facts—they represent real people with real souls—and the numbers indicate that we are going in the right direction.
- In 2008 there were 87,900 non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported. That is down from 94,200 injury and illness cases in 2007.
- Since 2003 Minnesota added more than 110,000 workers while the estimated number of recordable injury and illness cases has decreased by 23,700 cases.
- The rate of days-away-from-work cases was 1.1 per 100 FTE workers, significantly below the 1.3 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2006.
- The total case rate for construction dropped significantly, from 7.6 cases per 100 FTE in 2007 to 5.6 cases per 100 FTE in 2008.
While the goal is to keep getting the workplace safer, it is important to note that construction is the only industry division with total case-rate decreases every year since 2003. Our DLI point of emphasis will be falls. Falls are the most common event causing fatalities.
Our folks are dedicated to making the construction site safer. We can get much better but we are going in a very positive, safe direction. As Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "It's not so important where you stand as the direction you are going." For each individual worker it is important where he/she stands and that collectively we are going in the right direction."
Patricia Todd, Assistant Commissioner, is currently acting as Director of OSHA Consulting now that Jim Collins has retired. She strongly encourages small business owners in high risk categories to use OSHA Consulting for consultations and to apply for OSHA Grants. Now that training is included in OSHA Grants, Jim Krueger, OSHA Enforcement, joins her in encouraging their use to maximize safety training.
At our last safety committee meeting, Andy Smoka said that the most important thing employers can do to create a "culture of safety first" are to:
- be a great role model for working safely;
- provide the training, work processes and personal protective equipment in a way that builds a culture of looking out for our selves, our families and our co-workers;
- compliment employees for working safely and correct them when they do not work safely.
Bob Durkee talks about how we can use technology to get more people involved in safety training. Both Bob and Andy show their commitment for keeping workers safe by traveling all over the state to help employers convince employees of the need to work safely, provide work place consultations, and to provide excellent training.
Please join the many electrical contractors who are giving their employees 8 hours of training on how to comply with NFPA 70E. This standard is about much more than arc flash so be sure to get the full training. If you have an accident, OSHA will use this standard to make sure your employees were following the correct procedures and using the correct personal protective equipment. If they were not—it will show up in the size of the fines.
It is an honor to serve you as Chair of the MEA Board. I look forward to hearing about your ideas and needs. Please call the MEA office and talk to Judi or call me at my office any time.
Be safe and have a successful summer!
