October 6, 2003—The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently awarded more than $11.2 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 67 nonprofit organizations for safety and health training and educational programs. The grants will support classroom quality training programs that can be published and used by other organizations, training for OSHA’s industry-specific ergonomic guidelines, and training for targeted safety and health hazards, including workplace violence and small-business safety and health management systems.
This year OSHA awarded grants in three categories. Targeted Topic Training Grants support training for construction and general industry hazards, transportation fatality hazards, workplace violence, emergency preparedness and response, lead and silica exposure, and safety and health management systems for small businesses. OSHA Training Materials Development Grants support the development, evaluation, and validation of training materials for the eight areas in the targeted topic training grants. Finally, Ergonomics Guidelines Training Grants support training based on the new industry-specific ergonomics guidelines targeted by OSHA: the nursing home industry, retail grocery stores, poultry processing, and shipyards.
The following are examples of the grants awarded:
- Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The college will develop an interactive expert system to develop emergency action plans and train employees on hazards that require evacuation, relocation, or shelter to protect their health and safety. A training tool for employees based on facility-specific evacuation, relocation, or shelter procedures, and an incident command and training tool for management will be produced; $200,000.
- ]Northwest Public Power Association, Vancouver, Washington. NWPPA will further develop their utility industry operation and maintenance training program for electrical, wireless, and HDTV construction and maintenance workers and employers, including a new component on safe tower construction. Five new courses will be developed; $361,750.
- University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Foundation, Lowell, Massachusetts. The university will develop an OSHA 10-hour Construction Outreach Program for Hispanic Workers. The program will include 13 modules, training manuals, trainer’s guide, visual aids, pocket-sized safety and health alert cards for each of the training topics, and a Spanish construction dictionary. A 15-minute video on work hazards will be developed featuring Hispanic construction workers; $105,626.
- Aging Research Institute, Topeka, Kansas. The grantee plans to train 100 nursing home teams that include employers and workers. The training will include a two-day program that emphasizes the ergonomic guidelines and hazard/task analysis. Promoting management commitment is an integral part of the program; $159,639.
A fact sheet with a complete list of the 2003 Susan Harwood Grant recipients is available from OSHA.
