OSHA awards $2.75 million in grants for fall protection

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Sept. 22 awarded $2.75 million in Susan Harwood Targeted Topic Training Grants to 16 organizations, including nonprofit and community/faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, and colleges and universities.

The University of Alabama will use grant funds to develop and implement a fall protection program for the construction industry in Alabama and Mississippi. Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry. Any time a worker is at a height of four feet or more, the worker is at risk and needs to be protected. OSHA requires fall protection at six feet in construction.

The training materials will focus on fall hazard recognition, avoidance, abatement and control. The grant is for $191,000. These grants will assist organizations in providing safety and health training, and educational programs for workers and employers. The $2.75 million is in addition to the $8 million OSHA awarded Sept. 9 to 45 organizations for the Susan Harwood Capacity Building Grants.

Targeted Topic Training Grants are one-year grants that support the development of quality occupational safety and health training materials and programs for workers and employers addressing workplace hazards and prevention strategies. Earlier this month, OSHA announced the multi-year Susan Harwood Capacity Building Grants that build capacity in organizations to provide training and related services to workers and employers.

“This grant program is a crucial component to our efforts to provide workers with training about job hazards and their rights. It also provides employers with information about unsafe working conditions and their responsibilities under the law,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis in a prepared statement. “The education and training organizations receiving grants are designed to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths by providing the knowledge and tools that workers and employers need to identify and correct workplace safety and health hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels.

Partner Insights
Information to advance your business from industry suppliers
Selecting the Correct Construction Tire Solution
Presented by Michelin North America
8 Crucial Elements of a Tire Safety Program
Presented by Michelin North America
How High Fuel Prices hurt Your Business
Presented by EquipmentWatch

The Susan Harwood Targeted Topic Training Grant Program was named in honor of the late Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA’s health standards directorate, who died in 1996. The targeted topic grants support workplace occupational safety and health programs in both construction and general industry that educate workers and employers in industries with high hazard and fatality rates, workers with limited English proficiency, hard-to-reach workers and supervisors, and small business employers.

Additionally, the grant provides funds to develop training materials to train workers and employers to recognize, avoid, abate and prevent safety and health hazards in their workplaces. The agency received a total of 168 targeted topic grant applications.

This grant program is an important component of OSHA’s efforts to provide workers in high-risk industries with training about job hazards and their rights, the government agency says in a press release.

It also provides employers with crucial information about unsafe working conditions, mitigation strategies and their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, according to the news release.

For more information on the 2010 Susan Harwood Targeted Training Topic grant recipients, visit https://www.osha.gov/dte/sharwood/2010_grant_targeted_recipients.html.

For more information on the grant program, go to https://www.osha.gov/dte/sharwood/index.html.

Public inquiries should be directed to Kimberly Newell at 847-759-7705 or Jim Barnes at 847-759-7781.

FY 2010 Susan Harwood targeted topic training grant recipients, arranged alphabetically by state

Organization Name City, State Funding Amount Targeted Topic Subtopic
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. $191,000 Construction Fall Protection
National Jewish Health Denver, Colo. $139,924 General Industry Beryllium
International Association of Fire Fighters Washington, D.C. $220,000 General Industry Emergency Preparedness
Roofers and Waterproofers Research and Education Joint Trust Washington, D.C. $29,755 Construction Green Jobs Industry Hazards
Sustainable Workplace Alliance Stuart, Fla. $198,150 General Industry Green Jobs Industry Hazards
Owensboro Community and Technical College Owensboro, Ky. $150,000 Both Construction and General Industry Electrical Safety
National Association of Home Builders Research Center Upper Marlboro, Md. $220,000 Construction Fall Protection
Ozarks Technical Community College Springfield, Mo. $181,674 General Industry Confined Space Hazards in General Industry
North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Project Greensboro, N.C. $80,000 Both Construction and General Industry Musculoskeletal Disorders and Ergonomic Principles
UMDNJ-School of Public Health Piscataway, N.J. $220,000 Construction Focus Four
Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio $200,000 General Industry Musculoskeletal Disorders and Ergonomic Principles
Hispanic Contractor’s Association de San Antonio, Inc. San Antonio, Texas $119,800 General Industry Safety & Health Programs
Texas Engineering Extension Service College Station, Texas $198,012 Construction Work Zone Safety
William Marsh Rice University Houston, Texas $236,000 General Industry Nanotechnology
Professional Landcare Network Herndon, Va. $164,900 General Industry Landscaping & Tree Service Safety
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oshkosh, Wis. $200,785 General Industry Safety & Health Programs