OSHA News

OSHA forms safety partnership with Jensen Construction Co. of Des Moines, Iowa

(Dec 24, 2008)-- Ensuring worker safety and health during Interstate 80 bridge construction over the Missouri River is the goal of a new strategic partnership formed between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Jensen Construction Co. of Des Moines, Iowa.Along with Jensen, general contractor for the new I-80 bridge, OSHA also has extended program participation to subcontractors working on the bridge project. The bridge links Omaha, Neb, and Council Bluffs, Iowa.

“The partnership will facilitate the identification of project safety and health goals as well as the development of strategies to achieve those goals,” said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo.
The partnership is intended to encourage subcontractor involvement in the improvement of project safety and health performance, and also will focus on the four primary construction hazards: falls, “struck-by,” “caught-in” and electrical hazards. The partners will look at opportunities to enhance safety and health practices related to the operation and maintenance of cranes and other material-handling equipment involved in the project.

OSHA’s Strategic Partnership Program is part of U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao’s ongoing efforts to improve the health and safety of employees through cooperative relationships with trade associations, labor organizations, employers and employees. More than 1.4 million employees and nearly 28,000 employers across the United States have participated with OSHA in more than 580 strategic partnerships since the program began in 1998.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA’s role is to promote the safety and health of America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

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