Safety training offered to residential construction industry

Through a federally funded training grant program aimed at providing safety training to the residential construction industry, the National Association of Home Builders, in conjunction with the NAHB Research Center, has developed a safety training program for builders, trade contractors, supervisors and workers in a fall protection training seminar.The half-day seminar focuses on identifying fall hazards in residential construction, as well as providing attendees an understanding of the OSHA fall protection regulations and safe work practices to prevent fall-related injuries and fatalities. This training session also covers OSHA#146;s recent rescission of STD 3.1 Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction that have been in effect since 1995. OSHA has issued new compliance guidelines that become effective June 16, 2011. These new guidelines detail what is required of employers to protect workers from fall hazards in the residential construction industry. Each student will receive a copy of the NAHB-OSHA Fall Protection Handbook and Video and the NAHB-OSHA Scaffold Safety Handbook and Video (a $125 value!).Possibly the most important part of the seminar is a review of the safe work practices that must be used to minimize the risk of workers falling during home construction operations. Special emphasis will be placed on how to protect stairways, leading edges, window/wall openings and floor holes, how to use a Personal Fall Arrest System (PFAS), how to safely construct rafters and install roof trusses and sheeting, and how to provide protection from falling objects. All participants will be encouraged to ask questions and provide examples of their own personal safety experiences on the job site.The content for the four-hour seminar is based on the English/Spanish NAHB-OSHA Fall Protection Handbook and Fall Protection Video, which are straightforward guides for builders, remodelers, and trade contractors that have been designed to show how to eliminate fall hazards found on home building job sites and how to comply with OSHA fall protection regulations.The training seminar will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at 5999 S. New Wilke Road, Suite 108, in Rolling Meadows. Cost is $20 for food and beverages. Register by visiting hbagc.com, calling (224) 353-6050, fax (224) 353-6520 or e-mail hbagreaterchicago@gmail.com.