OSHA, MIA Join Forces

CLEVELAND – The Marble Institute of America (MIA) and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently signed a two-year alliance agreement to provide MIA members and others with information and training resources to help protect employees’ health and safety.
The state OSHA consultations services of Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin also joined the effort in offering free job safety and health advice, primarily for small businesses in high-hazard industries. State consultations services are confidential and separate from OSHA’s enforcement arm.
“This regional alliance demonstrates our commitment to find cooperative ways to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses,” said Michael Connors, OSHA regional administrator in Chicago. “Enlisting the help of the MIA in this effort will further our joint objective of improving safety in natural-stone fabricating businesses through enhanced communication about safety issues and development of safety programs.”
OSHA and MIA will develop information to help MIA member employers and workers recognize and prevent such hazards as silica exposure and slab-handling. The alliance will also develop safety and health training and education programs and will provide expertise to develop workplace safety and health curricula on the prevention of silicosis in the stone industry.
OSHA will also encourage states with OSHA state plans to participate in the alliance.
Information will be distributed at seminars, meetings or workshops to raise workplace safety and health awareness, and information will be developed on recognition and prevention of workplace hazards for OSHA and MIA Websites.
The alliance will also promote and encourage participation in OSHA’s cooperative programs. These include compliance assistance, safety- and health-consultation programs, the Voluntary Protection Programs and the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program.
“This partnering effort with OSHA is another important step in MIA’s aggressive safety initiative,” said Gary Distelhorst, MIA executive vice president. “In the past two years, MIA has produced four safety videos, each of which was distributed to more than 10,000 stone-industry companies. In addition, MIA created several safety posters which are being rolled out to industry companies.”
Distelhorst said impetus for the alliance with OSHA began when MIA worked with the agency in developing a video promoting the importance of OSHA compliance.