Easterday Construction Co., Inc. received a Silver Level STEP (Safety Training and Evaluation Process) achievement award from Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) for our ongoing efforts to advance our safety program. Thanks to our Safety Officer, Will Pearson, for both administering our safety program and for completing the award application. Thanks to our superintendents and entire crew for realizing the value of safety to our company and every individual employee of Easterday Construction.
Phil Marshall and Bob Cooper cleaned up one of our forklifts on Friday at the Car Wash. Apparently no one wanted to ride it through the automatic side!
Thanks to Phil Marshall for the pictures.
Tuesday I attended (and passed! perfect score!) an 8 hour class at the St. Joseph County Health Department taught under the auspices of Environmental Management Institute to become an EPA Certified Renovator. Believe it or not, I will be sent a new photo ID attesting to my knowledge in this area. This is a new requirement the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put into effect for contractors working on renovation and repair projects on Target Housing or A Child Occupied Facilities where lead paint may be present.
From the Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting Student Manual:
Target Housing is a home or residential unit built on or before December 31, 1977, except:
- Housing designated for the elderly or persons with disabilities (unless any child who is less than 6 years of age resides or is expected to reside in such housing).
- Any zero-bedroom dwelling (e.g. studio apartments, hospitals, hotels, dormitories, etc.).
A Child-Occupied Facilityis a pre-1978 building that meets all three of the criteria below:
- Visited regularly by the same child, under 6 years of age.
- The visits are on at least two different days within any week (Sunday through Saturday period), provided that each day’s visit lasts at least 3 hours.
- Combined weekly visits last at least 6 hours, and the combined annual visits last at least 60 hours.
Child-occupied facilities may be located in a public or commercial building or in target housing. These facilities include schools, child care facilities, and daycare centers.
I now know more about lead poisoning and lead paint than I want to know! It’s going to take some time to figure out how or if we want to participate in this market and how that decision will affect our business. In any case I have taken the first step for Easterday Construction Co., Inc. to participate in these projects safely and legally. The next step to consider is applying to be a Certified Firm.
The regulation is currently in flux. During the class we discussed several things that had already changed since the regulation initially went into effect on April 22, 2010. If you want to read the latest on this regulation as well as learn how to protect yourself and your family, visit the lead section of the EPA website here.
We just filled out our OSHA 300A form for 2009 and I’m pleased with the results. The OSHA 300A form is the summary of work-related injuries and illnesses. We had one reportable injury with no lost days. Not bad for all of the hours logged last year.
There are multiple categories including Deaths (0 Whew!), Total Number of Days Away From Work (0), and Total Number of Days of Restriction (0). Injuries and illnesses break out a lot of things other than injuries, including Skin Disorders (0), Respiratory Conditions (0), Poisoning (0) and Hearing Loss (0). Zeros across the board on these issues.
This form will be used internally for training purposes. (The one reportable accident has already been discussed with those involved as well as others that weren’t there in order to prevent similar incidents in the future.) It factors into our insurance rating. It is also a factor in our STEP rating.
Congratulations to everyone at Easterday Construction Co., Inc. for another safe year!
Last week we were working on a reroof project on the east shore of Lake Maxinkuckee for one of our good clients. Superintendent Bob Cooper noticed a car parked in front of the site, observing our work. He went out to check on it and found one of our competitors in the car with a Safety Consultant he had hired. Apparently our competitor had just had a visit from OSHA resulting in fines. He had hired the consultant to assist with the OSHA compliance on the current issues as well as to prevent future problems.
Upon some further discussion it was determined that the consultant was a former OSHA inspector. They were touring around looking at projects and discussing the safety violations they saw. Why were they spending so much time in front our our site? Because he was using us as an example of how to do it right! Our fall protection was in place. Our housekeeping was good. When he heard about our safety program, tool box talks, etc. he suggested that our competitor talk to us. “Sounds like this company does it right!”
We strive to do the right thing on our projects. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt. I cringe when I go by some job sites and see poor safety measures employed. I am pleased when our efforts are recognized by our clients and our peers. Earlier this year we achieved Silver Status in the ABC S.T.E.P. program. <certificate> We will strive to maintain that level or move up next year.