On Friday, May 1, 2015, OSHA issued a final rule to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces, similar in content and organization to the general industry confined spaces standard. The confined spaces in construction standard, however, incorporates several provisions to address construction-specific hazards, accounts for advancements in technology, and incorporates letters of interpretation issued for the general industry standard.

AGC of America is hosting a free, two-part webinar series to explain the key differences between the construction standard and the general industry standard which many in the construction industry implemented to some degree. The first webinar is scheduled for June 23, 2015, 2 - 3 p.m. eastern.

Jessica Douma
Regulatory Analyst, Directorate of Construction
OSHA
Jessica L. Douma has been a regulatory analyst with OSHA’s Directorate of Construction since 2006, and has worked on several standards and a variety of subjects for the Office of Construction Standards and Guidance during that time. She has contributed to the agency’s work in confined spaces, communication tower safety, cranes and derricks, steel erection, silica exposure, and injury and illness prevention.  She has been the project officer for the confined spaces rulemaking for the past 8 years.  Prior to 2006, she worked for OSHA as a Presidential Management Fellow from 2004 to 2006, including a three-month detail with the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.  She received a Juris Doctor from George Mason University School of Law in 2004, and a Bachelor of Arts with a double concentration in English Literature and Government from the College of William and Mary in 2000. 

 

 

Construction workers make up approximately 4 percent of the country's workforce but account for an average of 17 percent of all job-related fatalities each year. And, according to a November 2013 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2003-2010, 962 highway construction workers were killed at road construction sites with 87 percent of the deaths being workers who were working onsite at the time of the incident. AGC of America, supported by a Susan Harwood Federal Grant, is pleased to offer Highway Work Zone Safety Training, a one-day program based on OSHA standards and best practices to answer the need for qualified training within the industry. 

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July 8-10, 2015 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 
Construction safety and health is vital for the success of the industry. 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.

 

 

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