Scaffold Industry Association Joins American Society Of Safety Engineers, OSHA, to Promote Work Safety

DES PLAINES, Ill. — The Scaffold Industry Association (SIA) will join with thousands of people and businesses worldwide, along with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), representing more than 32,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members, the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Alliance Program participants, in raising awareness of the importance of being safe at work during the annual North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week this May 2-8 and Occupational Safety and Health Professional (OSHP) Day May 5.  

The NAOSH 2010 theme is "Mission NAOSH 2010: Safe Workplaces". In addition to activities scheduled worldwide, NAOSH week events and educational programs are scheduled for Washington, D.C., May 2 and 3, along with a roadway safety event May 5 in Portland, Oregon, with ASSE members and state officials. The NAOSH kick-off events in D.C. will be held at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian and the National Zoo. The events will feature panel discussions on new industry workplace safety and health efforts as well as recognizing the winners of the 8th annual ASSE kids" "safety-on-the-job" international poster contest for children aged 5-14. Attending the events will be ASSE members and their families, federal and state officials, and officials from ASSE, CSSE and OSHA and OSHA's Alliance Program participants.

“NAOSH week is another tool we use to educate people on the positive benefits of protecting people, property and the environment and sharing best practices among our members and their employees all in an effort to continue to enhance workplace safety worldwide,” Laurie Weber, SIA Executive Director said today.

While millions of people go to work each day and leave there injury and illness free, due in part to the efforts of occupational safety, health and environmental professionals, still close to 6,000 people in the U.S. die each year from on-the-job injuries and 4.4 million more suffer illnesses. Throughout the year we continue to provide services and information that will reduce that number. NAOSH helps SIA reach millions of people and tens of thousands of businesses on the importance and long-term benefits of workplace safety and also provide them with key resource information.
Past NAOSH Week events have included fleet safety classes, ergonomic awareness events, a workplace-oriented one-day free preparedness Web Expo, update on mining safety programs, a laser safety seminar, roadway work zone safety programs, corporate workplace safety and health days, teen worker safety programs, city and state work safety fairs,   symposiums on a variety of topics, projects to assist charities,   personal protective equipment (PPE) fashion shows, and much more. For a listing of activities from last year along with photos please go to www.asse.org/naosh09.

“Today's economic downturn is tough for everyone and some businesses believe they can save funds by cutting back in safety. That's not a good move from a business perspective,” ASSE President C. Christopher Patton, CSP, added. “Businesses have spent about $170 billion a year on costs associated with occupational injuries and health care,   and about $1 billion every week on injured employees and their medical providers — costs that take away from company profits, research and growth—   costs that continue to go up as cuts in safety are being made. Indirect tangible costs of injuries may be as much as 20 times the direct costs, including costs from accident investigation, low employee morale, retraining workers and repairs and production delays, while the intangible costs of losing a loved one, a friend and a co-worker go beyond a price tag.”

About the SIA
The Scaffold Industry Association (SIA) is a non-profit trade 501(c)(6) association committed to raising the standards of professionalism within the scaffold and access industry. The SIA represents all facets of the scaffold & access industry through various councils that include, aerial work platform, construction hoist, fall protection equipment, international, industrial, mast climbing, plank and platform, supported scaffold and
suspended scaffold. Through its various programs, the SIA promotes safety, training and a highly professional, responsible image of the scaffold and access industry. The SIA delivers hundreds of safety training programs a year at various locations throughout the world. These programs cover all aspects of scaffold and access safety and equipment use. The SIA is also the secretariat for the American National Standard, SIA ASC A92
standards. For more information, call (816) 595.4860 or visit the official SIA website at www.scaffold.org.   For more information about the 2010 NAOSH please visit www.asse.org/naosh10.

About the ASSE
Founded in 1911, the Des Plaines, IL-based ASSE is the largest and oldest professional safety society and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 32,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members lead, manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor, health care and education. For more information on how you can participate in NAOSH Week please go to www.asse.org/naosh10.