TCC Receives OSHA Grant to Provide Construction Safety Training

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (October 16, 2007) - Tallahassee Community College has received a Susan Harwood Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This is the first time TCC has received a grant from the Department of Labor. The grant, valued at $182,489, will enable TCC to offer safety training to employers and employees in the Florida masonry industry, with particular emphasis on preventing falls, scaffolding, rigging and power tool accidents.

The need for safety training for construction workers is significant. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 1,200 American construction workers die in falls on the job each year, accounting for 21 percent of workplace deaths nationally. Risks are multiplied still further when language barriers prevent effective communication between construction contractors and employees.

"As the statistics show, there is a clear need for providing effective safety training," said Rick Frazier, Project Director for the OSHA training. "The potential for injury is always there. We hope to demonstrate that by following existing OSHA safety rules and providing safety training, deaths and injuries can be prevented."

Through this grant, TCC will partner with the Florida Masonry Apprentice & Educational Foundation, Inc. (FMAEF) to deliver safety training in English and Spanish directly to 400 masonry employees over the next year. Employees from the North Florida region will benefit from training offered conveniently at the work-site, with training targeted towards rural subcontractors and subcontractors having less than 250 employees.

In addition, 75 supervisors will receive training through a train-the-trainer approach, enabling them to learn best safety practices to provide continuous training even at the conclusion of the project. Included in this supervisor training is an occupational Spanish course designed to teach the non-Spanish job site supervisor critical safety phrases in Spanish.

"By working with the masonry apprentices around the state we hope to teach these standards to them at the beginning of their training so they can have a working knowledge of safety to carry them through their careers," explains Irvine Leonard, Program Coordinator for the TCC Construction Program.

The Department of Labor awarded $10.1 million in safety and health training grants to 55 organizations across the nation. TCC is one of only seven two-year colleges to be awarded such a grant, and shares the honor with other institutions such as Georgia Tech, the University of Florida, University of California and Purdue University.

The training grants are 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. During her 17-year tenure with the agency, Harwood helped develop OSHA standards to protect employees exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

To participate in the safety training project or for more information, please contact Irvine Leonard or Rick Frazier at (850) 201-8760.