Nineteen nonprofit organizations across the state have received a total of $870,000 in training grants to strengthen worker safety and health, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) announced Wednesday.
The annual MIOSHA Consultation Education and Training grants are awarded for the development and implementation of safety and health training and services, specifically to help support small and medium-sized business.
“Protecting Michigan’s working men and women requires continual innovation and training in the workplace,” said MIOSHA Director Bart Pickelman. “These grants help ensure more organizations, including employer groups, labor organizations and other nonprofits across the state, can provide critical training and services to protect our workers in a wide range of industries.”
The Consultation Education and Training Grant Program is designed to:
• Increase the number of employers and employees providing and receiving occupational safety and health education, training and prevention services, especially employers with less than 100 employees.
• Encourage the development of new strategies for providing occupational safety and health education, training and prevention services.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of those alternative strategies and providers.
Among the awarded projects, the Center for Workplace Violence Prevention, Inc. received the largest training grant and plans to develop and deliver training for comprehensive workplace violence prevention, behavioral threat management, personal safety and survival skills, verbal de-escalation skills during an aggressive encounter and training targeted to “lone worker” safety. Training will also be provided on creating a safety and health program. The center is a returning grantee and received the largest funding amount for fiscal year 2022.
“Thanks to the grant funding, we offer programs with a training focus that is applicable to workplaces of every kind, size and location,” said Center for Workplace Violence Prevention Inc. Program Director Marilyn Night. “We regularly receive positive feedback from training program participants and expressions of gratitude to MIOSHA CET for making this training available to workplaces in the public sector that otherwise wouldn’t have access.”
Parents for Student Safety Employment Standards (PASSES), also a returning grantee, will use the grant funding to provide focused student training in construction trades, industrial arts classes and their co-op program. Some training topics include heat exhaustion, hazard recognition, fall protection, teen labor laws and the right of individuals to request and receive safety and equipment training. Trainings are held at high schools throughout Michigan.
“The MIOSHA CET Grant program allows PASSES to teach safety fundamentals to Michigan high school students before they enter the workforce,” said PASSES President Donna Weaver. “Safety life skills such as safe chemical-handling, PPE and proper lifting are crucial to these most-vulnerable young workers.”
Other projects that received grant funding include targeted safety and health training in high-hazard industries such as healthcare and manufacturing and training for implementing silica exposure control methods in the construction industry.
The list of the FY 2022 CET grant projects includes:
• AFL-CIO of Michigan will deliver safety and health training in the manufacturing, healthcare and construction industries with the focus on basic principles of workplace safety and health, identifying and remediating hazards in the workplace and avoiding work-related accidents. Technical assistance will also be provided to establish safety and health programs and committees.
• Alpena Community College will provide safety and health training throughout Northeast Michigan in the healthcare, construction, manufacturing, forestry, and logging industries.
• Associated General Contractors of Michigan offers the Safety and Health Support for Construction (SHTSC) program that will provide programs throughout Michigan in public formats to address changes to MIOSHA construction safety and health standards as well as provide on-site advanced safety training on various topics such as fall protection, silica, confined space, crane rigging and scaffold safety.
• Bay De Noc Community College will develop and present tree trimming and chainsaw safety training to address awareness and methods to prevent and reduce workplace injuries in the forest, landscaping and tree trimming and clearing industries.
• Center for Workplace Violence Prevention, Inc. will develop and deliver training for comprehensive workplace violence prevention, behavioral threat management, personal safety and survival skills, verbal de-escalation skills during an aggressive encounter and training targeted to “lone worker” safety and COVID-19 safe re-opening practices training. Training will also be provided on creating a safety and health program.
• Eastern Michigan University Organization for Risk Reduction will provide an eight-hour comprehensive training program in workshop format titled “Protection from Crystalline Silica.” This workshop will enable employers to recognize silica exposure hazards, their legal obligations to protect workers from silica exposure and how to select and implement appropriate exposure control methods for various construction situations.
• Emergency Services Rescue Training - Classroom and field trainings will be conducted for first responders regarding farm emergencies. Some included topics are farm fires, grain entrapments, chemicals, crush injuries, farm equipment entanglement, tractor rollovers and silos and manure storage.
• Great Lakes Safety Training Center will provide lockout/tagout safety training to employees in the manufacturing industry. The classroom training will include the purpose of lockout/tagout, MIOSHA requirements for lockout/tagout, recognition of types of energy and procedures for lockout/tagout. Hands-on training will also be conducted with the use of a simulator.
• Incompass Michigan - This project will provide safety and health training to staff of community rehabilitation organizations and workers with disabilities or other barriers to community inclusion and employment. To accommodate all types of learners, trainings are offered in various formats such as onsite, eLearning modules and webinars.
• Lawrence Technological University will provide health and safety training on highway/temporary road work zones to small and medium constructions firms as well as public service entities.
• Michigan Association of Chiropractors will offer a walkthrough evaluation that will result in the creation of a customized on-site training program for workers in the high-hazard industries of manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, accommodations and healthcare industries. This grant will also provide an outreach initiative with construction and temporary worker agencies. All trainings will focus on back safety and ergonomics.
• Michigan Green Industry Association (MGIA) - This project will promote awareness of the dangers of tree care operations and the importance of safety training, by providing both classroom and demonstrative training in the following fundamentals and techniques of safely performing tree care operations: proper tree pruning and felling techniques; chainsaw safety, maintenance and use; Arborist rigging techniques; Electrical Hazard Awareness Training, and CPR/First Aid, among others.
• Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) - A “Stop the Trends” training program will be offered to heavy construction companies throughout Michigan. Trainings include fall prevention, electrocutions, struck-by and crushed injuries. Assistance will also be offered to employers in creating a Safety and Health Program (SHP).
• Michigan State University - Will provide outreach to the agricultural industry by providing safety and health training to producers and employees regarding the identification of safety and health hazards in the workplace (Hazard Communication), the prevention of work-related respiratory illness, and the need for respiratory protection, its selection and proper fit and COVID-19 hazards.
• Parents for Student Safety Employment Standards (PASSES) - This program will provide focused student training in construction trades, industrial arts classes and the co-op program. Some training topics include: heat exhaustion, hazard recognition, proper lifting techniques, ladder safety, fall protection, proper use of personal protective equipment, teen labor laws and the right of individuals to request and receive safety and equipment training. Trainings are held at high schools throughout Michigan.
• Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWSDU) will provide hazard-specific training programs and dissemination of educational materials with technical assistance and support to build stronger safety programs at food and beverage processing facilities throughout the state and reduce the risk of COVID-19. An additional focus will be the training of young workers in these industries.
• UAW will provide safety and health training and assistance to smaller Michigan workplaces enabling them to identify their critical health and safety hazards and address them with cost-effective solutions. Training will be provided to employees, temporary workers, workers with language barriers, and young workers. Assistance will also be provided in creating and/or improving their Safety and Health Program.
• University of Michigan Center for Ergonomics will provide ergonomics training and technical assistance to small and medium sized Michigan companies. Specifically, they will provide customized on-site introductory ergonomics training seminars using an interactive teaching technology, ergonomics technical assistance, case study video clips (case studies showcasing ergonomic analyses are available on the YouTube Channel, C4E TV), guidance for safety and ergonomic program development, scholarships to attend an open enrollment introductory ergonomics course, and documentation of workplace changes and development of ergonomics/safety and health programs.
• Wayne State University - This project will provide blight removal hazard awareness training for workers in the construction industry. Training topics include, but are not limited to, health hazards of exposures to asbestos, lead, crystalline silica, noise; and physical hazards associated with falls, electrocution, excavation, confined spaces, demolition equipment, and traffic.
For additional information about MIOSHA, visit michigan.gov/miosha.
