On Monday, November 1, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) concluded its review of the OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS). The OSHA ETS will require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested for infection on at least a weekly basis. Now that the OSHA ETS has cleared OMB review, its release is likely imminent. It has been rumored that it would be released this week and that may very much be the case. To help members understand the OSHA ETS requirements, AGC has organized a three-part webinar series that will cover:

 

• Leveraging Outside Solutions to Meet the Mandate (Nov 8, 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm ET)
• Practical Considerations for Construction Firms (Nov 10, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET)
• Contractual Considerations for Construction Firms (Nov 11, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET)

 

This webinar series is FREE to AGC members. Click HERE to learn more and register.

 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted updated and expanded technical assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing questions about religious objections to employer COVID-19 vaccine requirements and how they interact with federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws. The expanded technical assistance provides new information about how Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies when an applicant or employee requests an exception from an employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement that conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

In addition to new COVID-19 mandates, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking to issue new regulations on heat illness prevention for workers indoors and outdoors, infectious diseases generally, and a whole lot more. How is your construction firm staying ahead of the curve? What are the latest safety and health innovations that are making real impacts on reducing risks while helping project teams meet or outperform project schedule or budget? To find out, register today for the 2022 AGC Construction Safety & Health Conference taking place January 12 – 14, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona.

The AGC Education and Research Foundation has funded the development of a series of construction case studies that can be used by faculty members in college and university construction education programs to supplement their primary instructional materials. The latest in this series was completed in partnership with Alex Albert, Kevin Han, Edward Jaselskis, and Min Liu, North Carolina State University; Joe Polansky, Fred Smith Company; Korey Merritt, C. T. Wilson Construction Company; and David Duke, S&ME.

 

Case Study: Construction Safety
Safety management in construction workplaces can be challenging due to the dynamic, temporal, and hazardous nature of construction operations. The challenge becomes even more complex when multiple employers, subcontractors, and workers with sometimes diverging interests and incentives come together to work on complex projects. This case study presents an incident scenario that illustrates the challenges of managing safety in a multi-employer workplace.

 

Case Studies may be accessed at no cost on the AGC Store website. Once the order is place in the bookstore, use your email address and account password to access the AGC Learning Center at https://learning.agc.org.

On October 27, the U.S. Occupational and Safety Administration (OSHA) officially signaled that it is moving closer to developing a national workplace heat standard. AGC previously testified against legislation requiring such a standard, citing the industry’s thorough, proactive work in this area and informed lawmakers that quickly establishing a one-size-fits-all national standard to address workplace heat exposure is unwarranted. In addition, AGC has pointed out how the Obama administration’s OSHA previously decided against issuing such a standard, giving existing agency authority to take enforcement action when heat hazards exist on the jobsite. AGC will work with its members, chapters, and coalition partners to respond to this proposal.

On October 25, the Senate voted 50-41 to confirm President Biden’s nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. Doug Parker, formerly the chief of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, as well as serving as deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) under the Obama administration, was part of the Biden transition team on worker health and safety issues. He will become the first to fill the position since David Michaels left the agency in 2017. Doug’s confirmation could signal the beginning of more regulatory and enforcement activity within OSHA, which has been understood to be agency priority.

 

On Nov. 1, the White House completed its final review of the OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS), signaling its imminent release. The OSHA ETS will require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested for infection on at least a weekly basis. CLICK HERE to register for the AGC of America WebEd Series (at no cost to AGC members) entitled: “Preparing for the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccine/Testing Mandate” held Nov. 8 through Nov. 11.

 

During these webinars, construction contractors will hear from their peers in firms as well as outside experts about the practical, contractual and outside solutions they may want to consider to comply with this new mandate. In addition, attendees will also learn about how AGC of America is advocating for the construction industry and reviewing its legal options to challenge this mandate. The specific webinars are entitled:

 

• Leveraging Outside Solutions to Meet the Mandate (Nov. 8 from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm ET)
• Practical Considerations for Construction Firms (Nov. 10 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET)
• Contractual Considerations for Construction Firms (Nov. 11 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET)

 

For more information and to register for these webinars, CLICK HERE.

December 6 – 8, 2021 | Cincinnati, OH 
Standard Registration Rate: $1195 

 

This unique three–day course provides construction safety and health professionals with the next–level knowledge required to successfully manage a company–wide safety program. Moving beyond the basics of Focus Four training, AGC’s Advanced Safety Management Training Program will give participants a more holistic view of safety’s role in project and company success, as well as advanced tactics and best practices for managing all aspects of a corporate safety program.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from 2015 to 2018, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) reported 103 total trenching and excavation-related deaths, an average of 25 per year over this 4-year period. Also, the OSHA Information System (OIS) Accident Investigation Report shows that between FY 2013 – FY 2017, there were a total of 156 incidents reported in the construction industry. Moreover, between October 2018 and September 2019, there were 1,499 citations and more than $7,000,000 in penalties issued to construction employers for failing to meet their compliance obligations under Subpart P.

 

AGC of America, supported by a Susan Harwood Federal Training Grant, is pleased to offer this one-day Trenching & Excavation Hazards in Construction safety training based on OSHA standards and best practices to answer the need for quality training within the industry. Classes will be delivered virtually via Zoom Meetings and attendees will have the opportunity to earn continuing education credits (0.8 IACET CEUs).

 

All classes will be held between 10 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time on the following dates:

 

• November 10
• November 11
• December 9
• December 10
• December 13
• December 14

 

Register Here. You will be emailed a Zoom Meeting link closer to the training date you select.

If you’ve driven Alabama roads recently, whether on a family road trip or on the way to a jobsite, you may have seen an effective — not to mention adorable — billboard, featuring Millie the AGC safety dog, promoting work zone safety.
BY JEANIE J. CLAPP

 

This Manual defines the standards used by road managers nationwide to install and maintain traffic control devices on all public streets, highways, and private toads open to public traffic. The MUTCD is published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 655, Subpart F. This manual also includes all 2012 revisions.