Improving the safety of both workers and motorists in roadway construction zones are key objectives of a new alliance among the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and its construction industry allies, organized labor and the federal government announced Jan. 25 in the nation's capital.
Through the alliance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners--which include ARTBA, the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)--will develop hazard awareness training and education programs aimed at training workers, educating the roadway construction industry, and reaching out to non-English construction workers about safe practices in roadway work zones.
Alliance members also will share research findings with the construction industry so that the interventions and best practices described in training and outreach activities are based upon the most accurate scientific data.
"ARTBA and its public and private sector members feel strongly they have a moral obligation to protect the safety of workers and motoring public in roadway construction zones," 2007 ARTBA Chairman C. Michael Walton said. "That's why the association has a long-standing relationship working with industry, labor organizations and the federal government to create educational initiatives and training programs aimed at improving safety on America's highways and in road construction zones. This second alliance with OSHA announced formally today, has, in many ways, already been in practice for decades."
"This agreement will provide Alliance Program participants and other government and non-government organizations with information, guidance and access to training resources," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "These resources will help the Alliance protect employees, including Spanish-speaking and other high-risk or vulnerable 'hard-to-reach' employees from general health and safety hazards and reduce and prevent exposures to roadway work-zone safety and health hazards."
