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Construction management professor awarded two grants on worker safety, health training from U.S. Department of Labor

Construction management professor awarded two grants on worker safety, health training from U.S. Department of Labor

October 27, 2021 at 11:43am


Nipesh Pradhananga – who is an associate professor at the College of Engineering and Computing in the Moss Department of Construction Management – was awarded a total of $360,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The first grant ­— Workplace Safety and Health Training on Infectious Diseases, including COVID-19 — is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The second grant revolves around fall prevention and protection.

Both grants derive from the Susan Harwood Workplace Safety and Health Training program, named in honor of the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. In her 17-year OSHA career, she helped develop federal standards to protect workers from bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

The program funds grants to nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor-management associations, colleges and universities. Target trainees include small-business employers and underserved vulnerable workers in high-hazard industries. These grants are a critical element in supporting OSHA’s role in educating workers on their rights and assisting employers with providing safe workplaces. 

“We have been able to serve our local community with life-saving safety training at no cost through the grant. Over 3,000 members of our community have benefited so far from the training. We are extremely grateful to the U.S. Department of Labor for allowing FIU to be the place where, not only the students but any member of the local community can get trained for free,” Pradhananga said. 

The Moss Department of Construction Management will be providing free three-hour workplace safety and health trainings on infectious diseases, including the coronavirus, in English and Spanish to employers and workers in the construction and general industries, as well as free three-hour fall protection trainings in English and Spanish to employers and limited English speaking, youth, hard-to-reach and at-risk workers in the construction industry.

This is the 5th year in a row FIU has been awarded the Susan Harwood Grant. Previous safety training topics include fall protection, electrical hazards, excavation and trenching and personal protective equipment.

These grants reflect OSHA’s overarching safety mission. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, education and assistance.

More information on the dates and locations of these free safety trainings will be released soon, here.

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