SCA to Help Develop Voluntary Ergonomic Guidelines

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) agreed to work with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop voluntary ergonomic guidelines for the shipbuilding industry. In September 2002, SCA was awarded a Susan Harwood Training and Education Grant to develop an Employee Awareness Ergonomic Training video. The $95,750 grant was used to film the video, distribute both videos and workbooks to members and non-members throughout the country and provide members a full day Ergonomic Train-the-Trainer seminar. The program was designed to educate supervisors and trainers to identify ergonomic injury risk factors and current solutions. After watching the video, OSHA Administrator John Hensahw stated, “SCA has produced a training videotape that will guide employers, managers and workers in the successful implementation of viable ergonomic solutions.” “We believe strongly that efforts such as this, which encourages safer shipyards, will enable us to provide a safer work environment and show OSHA our continued commitment to safety”, said SCA President, Allen Walker. “In addition, we believe that voluntary guidelines offers both employees and employers the flexibility to address ergonomics issues in a cooperative way. ” Safety is already an important issue for the Council. The average Total Recordable Incident Rates (TRIR) for SCA member facilities, for the fifth consecutive year, is substantially below the average TRIR for the industry as a whole (SIC 3731), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). SCA’s data is based on the quarterly injur y and illness surveys compiled by the Council. In addition, this year SCA renewed a one-year Strategic Partnership Program Agreement for Worker Safety with the Houston Area OSHA office and signed both a Regional and National Alliance