The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently announced it had renewed its partnership with ABC’s Central Texas Chapter and promoted the partnership as a success story. In an article posted to its website, OSHA highlighted a number of collaborative programs between ABC and OSHA that led to a significant safety achievement: The 2016 combined Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate for participating contractors was 50 percent below the 2015 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) average.

On April 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a memorandum withdrawing a letter of interpretation that stated nonunion employees can authorize an individual “affiliated with a union or a community organization” to act as their representative during agency-sanctioned inspections and other enforcement situations.

On Jan. 9, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule on beryllium exposure. In the final rule, OSHA includes the construction industry; this was expanded from the proposed stage which focused on general industry. Beryllium is a lightweight but strong metal used in a number of industries. 

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) recently released its 2017 Safety Performance Report to further the construction industry’s understanding of how to make jobsites safer through its Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP). Packed with infographics and practical takeaways, the report documents the dramatic impact of using proactive safety practices to reduce recordable incidents by up to 87 percent, making the best-performing companies 770 percent safer than the industry average. 

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced the winners of the National Craft Championships, the 2016 National Safety Awards, the National Diversity Excellence Awards and the Excellence in Construction® Awards during its annual conference Workforce Week ’17 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Workforce Week is ABC's annual celebration of the best in merit shop construction, recognizing the contributions of members, chapters and craft professionals to the construction industry and their dedication to excellence.

The 2016 National Safety Award Pinnacle, Excellence and Merit Winners are:

ABC member M&D Mechanical Contractors, Inc. of Decatur, Ala. placed themselves in an elite group of small businesses by earning a prestigious Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) certification from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The SHARP program recognizes small businesses that serve as a model for worksite safety and health and have used OSHA's On-site Consultation Program services and operate an exemplary injury and illness prevention program. 

New study reveals essential intelligence on the risks faced by building owners, general contractors and trade contractors and the benefits achieved from specific risk evaluation and mitigation practices. A key determination of this study is that collaboration between building owners, general contractors and subcontractors can aid in keeping construction project costs under control, result in a timely delivery and enhance the safety environment.

ABC Empire State Chapter held a rally with a diverse crowd of hundreds of open-shop craft workers to voice opposition to mandated apprenticeship on private construction jobsites. “ABC’s number-one priority is the safety and wellbeing of the talented men and women who work for our member companies,” said Brian Sampson, president of the ABC Empire State Chapter.

ABC is reminding its contractor member firms that their 2016 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries must be posted in a visible spot on all construction sites Feb. 1 through April 30.