Deadline to Contribute to OSHA Construction Standards and to Workplace Safety and Health Hazards Approaches
Last month the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)issued a Request for Information to initiate the fourth phase of its Standards Improvement Project (SIP). The purpose of SIP-IV is to improve and streamline existing OSHA construction standards by removing or revising requirements that are confusing or outdated, or that duplicate, or are inconsistent with, other standards. Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the winners of its Worker Safety and Health App Challenge, which awards prizes totaling $30,000 to four entrants who submitted tools that best demonstrate the importance of recognizing and preventing workplace safety and health hazards, and help young people understand their rights in the workplace.
OSHA invites the public, including employers, employees, and employee representatives to submit recommendations for revisions to existing construction standards and the rationale for these recommendations. The deadline for submitting comments is February 4, 2013.
Individuals may submit comments electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile or mail by February 4, 2013.
The prizes awarded in the U.S. Labor Department’s Worker Safety and Health App Challenge are:
- Safety in the Workplace Innovator Award:This $15,000 grand prize went to Working Safely Is No Accident, a website developed by the University of Tennessee Construction Industry Research and Policy Center and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The website is designed to offer workers, primarily those ages 13-24, conveniently accessible information on common workplace hazards and workers' rights to a safe workplace.
- Safety and Health Data Award:The United Steelworkers union won this $6,000 prize for its USW Chemical Safety application that allows users to search a Material Safety Data Sheets database for information on workplace exposure limits, health hazards, workplace controls, personal protective equipment, handling and storage, and emergency procedures related to hazardous substances in the workplace.
- Workers' Rights Award:This $6,000 prize went to the No Jack – Young Workers' Safety Campaign website developed by the Montana State Fund (the state's largest workers' compensation insurer). This edgy, youth-focused website expands the reach of MSF's safety and health message to a target audience of workers ages 16-24 by educating them and their employers about workers' rights to a safe and healthful workplace.
- People's Choice Award:This $3,000 prize went to Sidharth Garg for his Ergonomics iOS Application. This complete mobile workplace health solution offers ergonomic equipment setup advice, a variety of workplace-specific stretching exercises and programmable reminders to help time breaks and prevent musculoskeletal injuries.
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