The National Safety Council spins safety in a way that employers see how much more profitable their businesses can be by cutting down on accidents because employee productivity will soar. The council also will tailor courses to individual business needs. Three educational programs, however, that the National Safety Council endorses include certification in OSHA compliance, principles of safety and advanced safety. Other courses offered include best safety practices; safety management programs and supervisor training; roadway work-zone training and consulting. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, however, determines the safety regulations in the workplace. A division of the federal Department of Labor, OSHA, sets the standards.
The OSHA Outreach Training Program prepares individuals to go into the field and teach students. The designated trainers can then present 10- or 30-hour safety courses to construction workers. Some of the topics covered in the 10-hour course include fall protection, electrical issues, avoidance of falling objects, dealing with trench hazards and what to do if you are caught in or between equipment. Other topics include health hazards in construction such as noise and air pollution, as well as materials handling, storage, use and disposal. The dangers of scaffolds, cranes, derricks, elevators and conveyors are also discussed, along with stairways and ladders. The 30-hour course includes more detail on all of the above as well as personal protective and lifesaving equipment; fire protection and prevention; concrete and masonry construction; steel erection; powered industrial vehicles and ergonomics.
Several colleges and universities also provide construction safety education. For instance, that's the focus of the National Safety Education Center of the College of Engineering and Engineering technology at Northern Illinois University. The National Center for Construction Education and Research, affiliated with the University of Florida, bills itself as "building a safe, productive, and sustainable workforce of craft professionals." It, too, provides certification programs and safety instruction.
Construction workers don't have to go to brick-and-mortar classrooms to learn about safety, however. They also can get instruction through online programs such as Constructioncampus.com. Interactive classes include the OSHA trainings as well as courses as varied as basic industrial hygiene, basic workplace violence and advanced fall protection and scaffolding.
The National Safety Council, in discussing why employers should pay close attention to safety, points out that for every dollar spent on safety training, the council projects $3 in savings to the employer. The numbers are stark: One disabling injury can cost an employer $29,000. A fatality can cost $1 million.