The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) announced its continuing commitment to work-zone safety by signing an agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety (NIOSH) and industry partners to extend the current alliance promoting roadway work-zone safety and health.
"NAPA's mission in the Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners Alliance is to help workers return home safely to their families at the end of each day," said Ronald M. White, NAPA's 2007 chairman. "We will have a strong focus on providing awareness and training for workers."
The newly signed agreement will extend the alliance for two more years. "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."
NAPA's coalition partners in this alliance are the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Laborer's International Union of North America. The Associated General Contractors joined the alliance this year.
Several of the coalition partners have been working together for more than a decade with government, industry, labor and academia to build a foundation for significant accomplishments in health and safety. One of the coalition's first milestones was the successful effort to improve work conditions at the paving site by putting engineering controls on highway class pavers. This approach led to an ongoing dialogue and joint endeavors to deal with other roadway safety and health concerns.
