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Opp Construction of Grand Forks, N.D. was named the nation’s safest construction company in 2012 by the Associated General Contractors of America. The association, which oversees the Willis-sponsored Construction Safety Excellence Awards, an annual ranking of construction safety programs, noted that 51 other companies were selected as winners for the quality of their safety programs.

�鶹��ý annually participates in National Work Zone Awareness Week which is used as an opportunity to get media coverage to raise public awareness about the dangers for highway construction workers and motorists when road improvements are under way. This year’s National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) will take place April 15-19, 2013, with the theme “Work Zone Safety: We’re All In This Together.” While the number of fatalities, crashes and injuries have decreased in the past several years the problem still remains. NWZAW was conceptualized in 1999 as a way to recognize and focus on roadway work zone safety every April. A national event is scheduled for April 16, 2013, in Washington, D.C. to get the most media coverage possible. Many �鶹��ý chapters cooperate with their state DOTs in promoting Work Zone safety and also planning local and state media events. �鶹��ý of America serves on the Executive Committee planning the National event.

WASHINGTON - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will hold a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health Nov. 27-30, 2012, in Washington, DC. ACCSH Work Groups will meet Nov. 27-28, and the full committee will meet Nov. 29-30.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a compliance directive to provide guidance to compliance officers for the safe inspection of work sites where workers performing construction work on and/or near roadways or highways are exposed to hazards from vehicular traffic. The directive also provides guidance on issuing consistent citations for violations. 

�鶹��ý of America will continue to provide fall protection safety training next year thanks to a federal safety grant the association is being awarded. The association will use the $120,000 Susan Harwood Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to offer the fall protection safety training designed to prevent potentially fatal falls among construction workers, officials said.

�鶹��ý of America (�鶹��ý) would like to announce the Fourteenth Annual Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA) program. CSEA is the industry’s elite safety excellence awards program. �鶹��ý’s CSEA program recognizes companies that have developed and implemented premier safety and loss prevention programs. The program also showcases companies that have achieved continuous improvements and maintenance of their safety and health management systems.  All �鶹��ý chapters are encouraged to submit nominations for each division and occupational category. 

On Aug. 17, 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a direct final rule that will apply the requirements of the new cranes and derricks in construction standard – Subpart CC – to underground construction and demolition work.

Construction professionals will be able to take a wide range of mandatory and optional safety training programs online thanks to a new collaboration between the Associated General Contractors of America and ClickSafety, which is authorized by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to provide its online Outreach Training Program. Association officials added that the collaboration will provide a range of online construction-related safety courses, including the mandatory OSHA 10- and 30-hour safety training programs for employees of its member firms.

�鶹��ý teamed up with four other construction-related groups to form the Construction Coalition for a Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace. The coalition’s mission is to create a drug- and alcohol-free construction industry by providing companies and organizations with the resources necessary to implement drug- and alcohol-free policies into their business practices. 

�鶹��ý’s premier meeting for safety and health professionals will take place July 11-13, 2012, in Washington, D.C.  Join more than 150 industry professionals and participate in the development of regulatory and legislative activity on both a national and local level, assist in the development and creation of new safety training programs and products, and hear the latest initiatives from OSHA and other industry experts.