OSHA, NLBMDA Renew Workplace Safety Alliance

Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Jonathan Snare recently signed a two-year renewal of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) Alliance to help reduce workplace injuries and illnesses and advance overall workplace safety awareness.

The renewal for the NLBMDA Alliance will continue to focus on increasing overall safety awareness in the lumber and building materials industry, with a particular emphasis on recordkeeping issues and prevention of forklift accidents and lifting strains. Originally signed on July 28, 2003, the NLBMDA Alliance identifies emerging safety and health issues and potential methods for responding to those issues.

“Our Alliance with NLBMDA will help to continually raise awareness about OSHA requirements by providing information and training resources for industry employers and workers,” Snare said. “It has also helped to identify the need for important compliance assistance information specific to the industry.”

Added NLBMDA President Shawn Conrad, “NLBMDA is excited to renew our Alliance with OSHA. The Alliance continues to be a beneficial relationship for our industry. The accomplishments of the first two years brought many new safety resources to lumber and building material dealers and the Association looks forward to working on many more.”

OSHA and NLBMDA will continue to work together to increase access for industry employees to safety and health information and outreach programs, including lifting strains.

Both organizations will also continue to develop and disseminate injury and hazard information at conferences and events, and through print and electronic media, including using OSHA’s and NLBMDA’s Web sites. NLBMDA provided information and expertise to OSHA in the development of the Lumber and Building Material Dealer Industry Safety and Health Topics page that describes common industry hazards and possible solutions to those hazards.

NLBMDA represents about 6,000 primarily independent lumber and building material companies, in addition to 32 manufacturers and service providers to the building material industry. A majority of the Association’s members focus on the building sector and work with home building and professional contractors.