b'BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Continued from page 7as a model. Trade schools and community collegescraftspeople and cultivating long-term company are geared for public/private partnership programsleadership. whichareincreasinglycommonplaceacrossTo find out more, check out the MRCA Business the country. And perhaps most importantly theManagement Committees newest publication: conversation around the value and importanceBestPracticeBulletin:UseofTrainingand of apprenticeship is changing in America. GoneEducation Milestones for Worker Recruitment arethedayswhencollegewasseenastheand Retention. Check out Part 2 of this series only viable path to a successful career. As thein the next issue of MR Magazine.The article image of the roofing industry continues to evolve,will feature an interview with Thomas Williams of certified apprenticeship programs, whether they beKPost Company who conducts and helped design company-sponsored or organization-sponsored,a roofing education curriculum that is available to can be a key tool for recruitment and retention asall roofing professionals in the Dallas-Fort Worth well as a tried-and-true method for training skilledarea.OSHA BEGINS NATIONAL EMPAHSIS PROGRAM ADDRESSING FALLSLindsey DeckAuman, Mahan & FurryE ffectiveMay1,2023,theinitiate these inspections either during the compliance OccupationalSafetyandofficers normal work-day travel or while enroute to, from Health Administration (OSHA)or during other inspections. Fall inspections will also begananewNationalEmphasiscontinue to be initiated as the result of incidents, referrals Program (NEP) to prevent falls. Inand complaints. If an inspection is not warranted after recognizing that the leading cause ofentering the worksite and observing work activities, the fatal workplace injuries involves falls,compliance officer is instructed to conduct an outreach OSHAs new NEP will focus on reducing fall-related injuriesactivity on fall protection and exit the site. Outreach and fatalities for people working at heights in all industries.activities can include: giving the employer the website The issuance of the new NEP coincides with OSHAs 10thaddress for OSHAs fall prevention standards or providing Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls inrelated outreach materials or copies of OSHA publications. Construction event. The Stand-Down event, which took place May 1-5, 2023, is a voluntary event for employersThe scope of an inspection under the NEP will normally to talk directly to their employees about safety and tobe limited to evaluating worker exposure to hazards reinforce the importance of fall prevention. associated with falls; however, the compliance officer may expand the scope of the inspection if there is evidence The NEP itself establishes guidance for locating andfrom injury and illness records, plain view hazards or inspecting fall hazards and allows OSHA complianceemployee interviews of other potential safety and health officers to open inspections whenever they observehazards or violations in or around the worksite.someone working at heights. The program will also include an outreach component which aims to educateFinally, according to the NEP, both the National Office and employers about effective ways to keep their workerseach Area Office and Regional Office must develop and safe as well as compliance assistance. implement a comprehensive fall prevention awareness outreach program for ninety (90) days prior to initiating KEY TAKEAWAYS any inspection.The NEP will apply to all industries and will authorizeIn summary, employers should be aware that the new compliance officers to initiate an inspection anytime theyNEP allows compliance officers to initiate an inspection observe someone working at heights. This will applyafter the mere sight of someone working at height. The whether or not the employer is in compliance with fallNEP does not require an employer to be out of compliance protection requirements. The NEP does not specify atwith fall protection standards. Moreover, the NEP allows a what height a worker must be working in order to initiatecompliance officer to expand the scope of the inspection an inspection. However, while the NEP does not definewhile on site. the height requirements, remember that the generalThis bulletin was prepared by Lindsey Deck. Lindsey is an construction standard for fall protection is 6 feet (10 feetassociate at Auman Mahan & Furry. She concentrates her when standing on scaffolding).law practice in representing employers in defending them Compliance officers, under the NEP, are authorized toin Workers Compensation claims and OSHA matters.8 www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer'