CoatingsPro Magazine

NOV 2017

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58 NOVEMBER 2017 COATINGSPROMAG.COM Industry Insight C onstruction is a danger- ous industry. With a total of 4,836 fatal workplace incidents in 2015, nearly 20 percent of those killed were construc- tion workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). One growing area of safety concern in construc- tion and beyond is the employment of temporary and contract workers. Contract worker fatalities accounted for 17 percent of all workplace fatalities in 2015, and workers were most often contracted by private construction firms, accord- ing to the BLS. Contract workers are a vulnerable population often perform- ing higher risk jobs in worksites with little to no management supervision. Companies using contract employ- ees, therefore, need a comprehensive program that manages this area of risk. Processes and Procedures e Campbell Institute, the center of excellence for environmental health and safety at the National Safety Council (NSC), conducted research on how world-class organizations approach contractor management. ey found five crucial steps of the contractor life cycle: 1. Prequalification 2. Pre-job task and risk assessment 3. Training and orientation 4. Job monitoring 5. Post-job evaluation A contractor management program should "qualify" contractors that meet standards set by the hiring organization. A new NSC study shows that contractors subjected to prequalification have better average Total Recordable Rates (TRR); Days Away, Restrictions or Transfers (DART) rates; and Lost Workday Rates (LWR) within individual industries and all industries as a whole. Organizations using temporary workers are responsible for their safety and health. In 2013, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched its Temporary Worker Initiative (TWI) focused on staffing firm and host employer compliance. TWI states that whoever is in the best position to ensure the safety and health of temporary workers has the obligation to do so. Prior to contracting with a staffing firm, host employers should: » Provide the staffing firm with requested safety data and informa- tion for your organization; provide information that will allow the firm to make a determination as to the safety of your worksite. » Allow the staffing firm physical access to the worksite to evaluate the safety of your worksite. Prior to temporary workers begin- ning work at your organization's worksite: » Provide temporary workers a site-specific orientation that includes emergency procedures, information on reporting injuries, and company safety policies and procedures. » Provide temporary workers job-specific training, including procedures, equipment, required personal protective equipment (PPE), and information on specific hazards the worker may encounter. » Furnish PPE to the workers and train them on its use, mainte- nance, etc. (if applicable). In the event a temporary worker is injured while under supervision by the host employer, the host employer must: » Report injuries involving loss of an eye, amputation, or in-patient hospi- talization to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within the required time frame. » Record the injury on their OSHA 300 log, regardless of what their contract with the staffing firm might say. » Conduct a thorough incident investigation and implement identified corrective actions by either party. » Make every effort to accommo- date return to work assignments as it reduces their "days away from work" OSHA metric. Safety for All To keep those in the construction industry safe, companies need to foster a culture of safety that involves all workers. Contractor safety manage- ment programs help to make clear the responsibilities for worker safety so they are able to return to their loved ones at the end of every work day. CP Photo courtesy of National Safety Council By Amy Harper, PhD, SMS, ASP, Journey to Safety Excellence & Workplace Strateg y Director at the National Safety Council Everyone Deserves a Safe Workplace

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