Construction safety - OSHA 10
Posted by
Megan RothJuly 20, 2008 12:54 AMWhen it comes to construction safety, common sense generally isn't enough (many workers have learned this the hard way...) Thus, it's important for construction workers to be educated or trained in the field of construction safety.
In order to do so, OSHA has developed the OSHA 10, which requires workers to complete a ten-hour service and training course in the field of construction safety. The course was designed to educated workers not only of safety issues relevant to their equipment and location, but also to health concerns that may exist. The course can be completed either can be completed in various formats, most popularly online; however, regardless of whether the training takes place in a classroom, at a job-site or in a home office, the requirements for each remain the same. Each ten-hour course costs $125 and presents an introduction to OSHA and overviews of scaffolding, fall protection, cranes, trenches, and power tools (among many other issues).
Upon successful completion of the course, each worker is granted his Department of Labor OSHA construction safety and health ten-hour completion card. Workers may also elect to complete the OSHA-30 training course, which covers everything in the OSHA 10 course as well as many, many others. Though the cost of the course is higher ($295 total), the course is taught in essentially the same exact way the ten hour course is taught. Upon completion, workers receive their Department of Labor OSHA construction and safety 30-hour completion card.
Many websites (including OSHA) offer materials online for instructors teaching the course to other workers. Since the ultimate goal of these materials is to benefit the workers, they emphasize hazard identification, avoidance, and control rather than standards. The purpose of these courses is to provide practical solutions to real situations that workers can take and put to use should an issue arise at a jobsite.
As such, it is incredibly important for all workers to not only pass, but to actually learn the materials included in each course. In order to improve material retention, many websites have begun offering study guides and training manuals intended to improve worker performance and tighten security measures at jobsites around the nation.
