On September 14, 2010 the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), entered into a new industry-wide National Alliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP), and the American Shipbuilding Association (ASA). The unified Alliance will run for a two-year charter, and is just the second new Alliance signed since the Obama Administration re-worked partnership criteria.
In a ceremony at OSHA Headquarters in Washington, DC, Mr. Jordan Barab, Deputy Administrator of OSHA, Pete Halvordson, Chairman of NSRP’s Executive Committee, and Cynthia Brown, ASA’s Predisdent joined SCA’s Ian Bennitt in the signing of the Alliance agreement between what will collectively be known as the Shipbuilding Group.
The agreement demonstrates participant’s longstanding commitment to promote safe and healthful working conditions for shipyard employees. Many initiatives will be carried over from each association past Alliances, such as the Safety Alert series which addresses hazard identification and, safety tips and solutions. In addition, the efforts of the group will concentrate on raising awareness of OSHA’s rulemaking and enforcement initiatives through outreach and communication.
“SCA welcomes this Alliance as crucial to improving worker safety and health. An open dialogue, shared information and collaboration on compliance assistance products guarantee a better working environment in shipyards across the country,” said Ian Bennitt, Manager of Government Affairs at SCA.
Through the Alliance, OSHA and the Shipbuilding Group will provide shipyards across the country with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of workers, particularly by reducing and preventing exposure to electrical, ergonomic, struck-by, and slip, trip, and fall hazards in shipyard employment, and by addressing issues of non-English-speaking or limited-English-speaking workers.
SCA’s concluded Alliance page, along with all past Alliance-developed products and information, can be found here: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/sca/sca.html