The Operating Engineers Local 324 Journeyman and Apprentice Training Fund, Inc. (OE 324 JATF) and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) renewed an alliance to improve the safety and productivity of Michigan workers. The MIOSHA program is part of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).
“MIOSHA is pleased to continue this important alliance to provide needed training and promote information sharing that will help create safer and more healthful workplaces throughout Michigan,” said MIOSHA Acting Director Bart Pickelman.
The alliance formalizes a working relationship between OE 324 JATF and MIOSHA to provide members and others with information, guidance and access to training resources that ensure worker protections and help reduce and prevent exposure specifically to mobile equipment, excavation and crane operation hazards.
Signing the alliance were: Operating Engineers 324 Business Manager and General Vice President Douglas Stockwell; OE 324 JATF Training Coordinator John Osika; OE 324 LMEC Executive Director Lee Graham; MIOSHA Acting Director Bart Pickelman; and Consultation, Education and Training Division Director Nella Davis-Ray.
“The alliance between MIOSHA and OE 324 JATF improves the quality of training for every student that attends classes with us,” said Osika. “This increases the value of our students’ skills on the job site and the competitiveness of OE 324 and our signatory contractors in the market place. The alliance helps our participants to be safer and more productive Operating Engineers.”
The purpose of this alliance is to protect the safety and health of Michigan Operating Engineers, as well as work with employers and management to improve safety in the workplace.
The key goals of the alliance include:
· Produce safer, better trained Operating Engineers,
· Increased awareness of MIOSHA’s rulemaking and enforcement initiatives, and
· Increased involvement and cooperation between MIOSHA and OE 324 JATF.
Alliances enable organizations committed to workplace safety and health to collaborate with MIOSHA to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. They are open to all groups, including trade or professional associations, businesses, labor organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies.
There are many benefits to participating in an alliance with MIOSHA. Through this program, organizations will:
· Build trusting, cooperative relationships,
· Network with others committed to workplace safety and health,
· Exchange information about best practices, and
· Leverage resources to maximize worker safety and health protection.
The OE 324 JATF provides continuing education opportunities for new and experienced operating engineers. For more information about OE 324, visit www.oe324.org/.
Source: LARA