Safety and Health Surveys Highlight Partnership Priorities, Opportunities, Progress
JOURNAL: ISSUE 2 - 2012
Through their participation in the Masonry Research to Practice [r2p] Partnership, BAC, IMI and the International Council of Employers of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (ICE) are working with manufacturers, researchers, government, and other stakeholders to make BAC jobs safer and healthier. This section of the Journal presents an update on the Partnership's work, highlights a new campaign to prevent falls in construction, and includes reminders of simple steps to prevent work-related hearing loss and work safely in hot weather. For background on the Partnership's work and its broader role in improving safety and health in the construction industry, visit www.masonryr2ppartnership.org.
Ergonomics, silica, hearing loss, eye injuries, skin disease, and emerging issues (see "The Hidden Dangers of Cell Phone Towers" in Issue 1, 2012 of the Journal) were the subject of contractor and member surveys and discussions at the 2012 Labor-Management Craft Committees earlier this year. The survey results created a baseline for measuring the Partnership's efforts to make jobs safer and the discussions focused attention on opportunities for improvement.
As reported to the Craft Committees, there is general agreement between BAC members and contractors on the most significant hazards, how frequently safety interventions (such as personal protective equipment, safer equipment, etc.) are used, and what is limiting their use. These findings are significant because they indicate that both sides agree on the starting point for improving safety and health.
Where do you find safety and health information?
Since one of the biggest challenges to making worksites safer is getting the latest information into the hands of members and contractors, both groups were asked where they go to find safety and health information. Members identified toolbox talks and the BAC Journal as the primary sources, while contractors said they often rely on suppliers, manufacturers and their insurance companies for information, including materials for toolbox talks.
 Each of BAC's six Labor-Management Craft Committees met in February to review the results of the Masonry Partnership's safety and health survey of BAC members and contractors and discuss next steps. Pictured above is the Tile/Marble/Terrazzo Craft Committee in session. |
The majority of the contractors surveyed said they regularly hold toolbox talks and roughly four out of five believe they have a positive impact on a project's safety performance. These results reinforce an earlier recommendation from a Craft Committee discussion that the Partnership should develop toolbox talks that are easy to access and use. In response, IMI expanded the "Toolkit" posted on its website to include a section dedicated for toolbox talks.
"These toolbox talks not only reflect our industry's safety priorities," says IMI President Joan Calambokidis, "but also save our contractors from having to go to multiple sources for this information and are a cost effective way to quickly share information."
