Hispanic Contractors Association de Tejas (HCAT) Marathon Trains over 530 Workers in the Construction Industry
Background:
On April 25, 2007, the Hispanic Contractors Association de Tejas (HCAT) and OSHA's Region VI, Fort Worth Area Office signed an OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) to enhance workplace safety and health in the construction industry - particularly for Hispanic workers - through the development of effective safety and health management systems (SHMS).
Success Impact:
Safety and Health Promoted through Increasing Bilingual Training Opportunities for Dallas/Ft. Worth Area Construction Workers
At the beginning of the year, HCAT held an OSHA 10-Hour Marathon event at the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Chairman of the event, Javier Arias, wrote the OSHA Fort Worth Area Office expressing gratitude for the Agency's "generous donation of time, expertise, commitment, and resources," noting that OSHA's "generosity is indicative of the strong support for training and awareness in our construction community."
The Marathon trained over 530 workers, encompassing not only the construction industry, but also the industries of manufacturing and general industry. The majority of the classes were taught in Spanish, but the 10-Hour courses were also offered in English. Overall, Mr. Arias declared that, "Ultimately, great strides were made in an effort to inform people of workplace hazards and potentially save lives! Thank you very much for participation, generosity, and dedication."
Partnership Objectives:
The overall goal of this Partnership is to reduce serious injuries and illnesses (using as a minimum one percent per year) and to reduce the occurrence of the four major hazards in the categories of falls, electrocutions, struck-by, and caught-between (using as a minimum 10 percent per year). Measurements will be obtained from OSHA 300 logs and self-inspections.