Backend Category: Safety Excellence Initiative

OSHA Issues Highly Anticipated COVID-19 ETS

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is issuing an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19.

Summary:

  1. Employers with 100 or more employees must ensure that each of their workers is fully vaccinated by January 4th, 2022 or test for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis.
  2. Employers do not have to pay for COVID-19 tests under the OSHA ETS but may be required to pay under other laws or collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).
  3. Employers must provide paid-time for employees to get vaccinated and any sick leave for employees who get side effects starting on December 5, 2021.
  4. Unvaccinated employees must wear a face mask in the workplace starting on December 5th.
  5. Employers must remove from the workplace any employee who receives a positive COVID-19 test or is diagnosed with COVID-19.
  6. This ETS is effective immediately, although all aspects of the standard, other than testing, are enforceable starting Dec. 5th, 2021. Testing requirements become enforceable starting Jan 4th, 2022.

Additional details:

New Vaccination Requirement for Employers With 100 or More Employees: OSHA is issuing a COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to require employers with 100 or more employees to:

  • Get Their Employees Vaccinated by January 4th and Require Unvaccinated Employees to Produce a Negative Test on at Least a Weekly Basis: All covered employers must ensure that their employees have received the necessary shots to be fully vaccinated – either two doses of Pfizer or Moderna, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson – by January 4th. After that, all covered employers must ensure that any employees who have not received the necessary shots begin producing a verified negative test to their employer on at least a weekly basis, and they must remove from the workplace any employee who receives a positive COVID-19 test or is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed health care provider. The ETS lays out the wide variety of tests that comply with the standard. Given that vaccines are safe, free, and the most effective way for workers to be protected from COVID-19 transmission at work, the ETS does not require employers to provide or pay for tests. Employers may be required to pay for testing because of other laws or collective bargaining agreements. 
  • Pay Employees for the Time it Takes to Get Vaccinated: All covered employers are required to provide paid-time for their employees to get vaccinated and, if needed, sick leave to recover from side effects experienced that keep them from working. 
  • Ensure All Unvaccinated Employees are Masked: All covered employers must ensure that unvaccinated employees wear a face mask while in the workplace. 
  • Other Requirements and Compliance Date: Employers are subject to requirements for reporting and recordkeeping that are spelled out in the detailed OSHA materials available here. While the testing requirement for unvaccinated workers will begin after January 4th, employers must be in compliance with all other requirements – such as providing paid-time for employees to get vaccinated and masking for unvaccinated workers – on December 5th. The Administration is calling on all employers to step up and make these changes as quickly as possible.

Additional information on the OSHA ETS website

MCAA & MILWAUKEE TOOL 2021 Safety Professional of the Year Award Now Accepting Nominations

MCAA is now accepting applications for the 2021 MCAA & MILWAUKEE TOOL Safety Professional of the Year award. The award is presented annually to a mechanical industry safety and health professional who has led his or her company to achieving an exceptionally high degree of safety excellence. The award winner for 2021 will be announced during MCAA’s 2022 Safety Directors’ Conference. 

This year the winner will also be invited to the MCAA22 convention in San Diego, CA in March to receive the award on stage during the Awards of Excellence Breakfast. Airfare, lodging and registration will all be complimentary.

To nominate someone from your company, or from another company, to become the 2021 MCAA & MILWAUKEE TOOL Safety Professional of the Year, please complete the nomination form and e-mail it to MCAA’s Executive Director of Safety, Health, and Risk Management, Raffi Elchemmas, at raffi@mcaa.org by close of business on December 13, 2021.

DOWNLOAD THE NOMINATION FORM

Register Now for MCAA’s 2022 Safety Directors’ Conference

MCAA is ‘ALL IN’ for our 19th annual Safety Directors’ Conference at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, January 18-20, 2022. This conference brings together hundreds of occupational safety and health professionals, MCAA local affiliate executives, United Association safety instructors, principals, owners, and others who have safety and health responsibility.

Additionally, this conference is open to our partners at NECA, TAUC, and SMACNA to attend and participate in. Over the three days you will hear from subject matter experts on safety, health, risk management, legal, and other topics. Also​, Captain Richard Phillips will be presenting on the Hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. ​We can’t wait to go ALL IN in 2022!

LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Jobsite Safety Inspection Checklist

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s Jobsite Safety Inspection Checklist. This checklist can be easily customized to help keep you organized and on track when you perform safety inspections.

Topics covered by the basic checklist include:

  • Ladders & Stairways
  • General Fall Protection
  • Scaffolds
  • Excavations/Trenches
  • Electrical
  • Personal Protective Equipment
DOWNLOAD

For additional safety-related resources, including training videos and materials, visit the Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page.

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas.

UA International Training Fund’s Preparedness Plan for In-Person Training

To MCAA members and JATC trustees considering attendance at events sponsored by the International Training Fund:

The Trustees of the UA International Training Fund (ITF) are committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees, instructors, and students participating in training events sponsored by the ITF.

To ensure safe and healthy training, the ITF has developed and adopted the following Preparedness Plan for in-person training that requires proof of COVID vaccination as a precondition of in-person participation.

The Plan applies to all in-person training events sponsored by the ITF in any location throughout the United States, including the upcoming Pipe Trades Training Conference, as well as Instructor Training Program, International Apprentice Contest and all Regional Training Classes.

Participants in any sponsored ITF event are responsible for complying with all aspects of the Plan.

VIEW PLAN

MCAA22 Reunite: We’re Going to Party Like It’s 1989

Reunite with your MCAA family and dance the night away with the Spazmatics! Come enjoy all the awesome sounds, styles and way cool dance steps from the 1980’s decade we’d love to forget, but are happy to remember. Complete with skinny ties, fashionable hairstyles, and horn-rimmed glasses, the Spazmatics recapture the best of the worst. Outstanding musicianship combined with creative flair and style makes for an evening of pure energy and entertainment. Don’t miss the Spazmatics at MCAA22’s Opening Party on Sunday, March 17th.

Registration is now open. Save your spot today!

LEARN MORE

NECA Recognizes MCAA with the 2021 NECA Industry Partner Award

Since 1996, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) has presented their annual Industry Partner Award to individuals or organizations who are allied with the electrical construction industry. This year, NECA presented and recognized MCAA with the 2021 NECA Industry Partner Award at their annual Convention in Nashville.

In early 2021, MCAA, NECA and The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) joined forces in a strategic alliance agreement to collaborate on issues impacting the construction and maintenance industry on a national and regional level. Through this alliance, the associations conduct joint meetings and share information of mutual interest relating to environmental health and safety, industrial relations, government affairs, innovation and technology. The associations work to develop products and practices to jointly benefit their respective memberships, increase membership awareness of industry issues and more.

Earlier this year, MCAA and NECA also partnered together to put on the 2021 MEP Innovation Conference, held virtually this past April. Registration is already open for the 2022 MEP Innovation Conference held jointly with MCAA, NECA and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) for January 24-26, 2022. This annual event will be held in-person, showcasing the industry-defining innovations being seen across the mechanical, electrical and plumbing contracting industries.

MCAA thanks NECA for this recognition and looks forward to many more years of joint collaboration in order to advance the unionized construction industry.

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Accident Investigation for the Mechanical Trades Safety Training Video

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s Accident Investigation for the Mechanical Trades Safety Training Video. This video provides your supervisors with step-by-step instruction on how to conduct a thorough accident investigation. It also helps them understand why accident investigations are so valuable.

The video outlines the importance of taking action when an accident occurs. This does three things:

  • Helps prevent other accidents
  • Shows workers that the company is committed to safety
  • Saves money

Download the Video

You Might Also Like This Resource

Model Accident/Incident Investigation Program

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas.

Biden Administration COVID Vaccination Mandates Update

Below are two items relevant to the Biden Administration’s recent COVID vaccination mandates.

The General Services Administration and the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) issued a broad Federal Acquisition Regulation Class Deviation for direct Federal Government Civilian Agency Contracting Officers to implement President Biden’s Executive Order 14042.

The executive order is for direct Federal prime contracts and subcontracts above the Simplified Acquisition (SAT) dollar threshold of $250,000. The CAAC letter reiterates that Federal agencies are required to include the clause – Far Part 52.223-99 Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols For Federal Contractors, to be included in:

  • all contracts awarded on or after November 14, 2021 (based on solicitations issued before October 15, 2021) (including new orders issued on or after 10/14 under existing indefinite-delivery contracts based on solicitations issued before October 15th);
  • new solicitation issued on or after October 15, 2021, and new contracts (and indefinite delivery pacts) entered into based on those solicitations;
  • extensions or renewals or options on existing contracts exercised on or after October 15, 2021.

The CAAC Letter also “strongly encourages” (but does not require) Federal agencies to include the COVID-19 vaccination requirement clause in contracts that will be awarded before November 14th on solicitations issued before October 15th  and to include the requirements on prime and subcontracts under the $250,000 SAT.

The clause itself requires covered prime contractors and subcontractors to comply with all guidance, including guidance conveyed through Frequently Asked Questions, as amended during the performance of this contract, for contractor and subcontractor workplace locations published by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Guidance at https:www.safefederal workforce.gov/contractors/.

The clause incorporates automatic adoption of yet-to-be issued requirements published by the Federal SFW Task Force.

The clause also clarified that the prime contract flow-down of the requirements applies only to subcontracts above the SAT of $250,000, with the caveat of the strong suggestion of broader application noted above.

It remains to be determined what, if any, further guidance may be issued by the full Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.

CAAC Letter

Frequently Asked Questions About Affordable Care Act Implementation Part 50, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act Implementation. (CCIIO OG MMRD 1808, October 4, 2021)  The Department of labor, Health and Human Services Administration and Department of Treasury revised and updated their FAQs on the ACA, HIPAA, and CARES Act implementation guidance to address health plan coverage of COVID vaccination expenses, the permissibility of allowing health plan wellness incentives for vaccinations, and the impermissibility of denying health plan eligibility and coverage to unvaccinated participants.

Revised FAQs Part 50

Don’t Miss the Recently Released MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Video Series

MCAA recently announced the launch of the new MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Video Series. Together with our partners in safety, CNA, we developed a series of easy-to-watch safety videos that are each under 3-minutes! Please enjoy the four MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Videos below.

  1. Safe Lifting Technique to Help Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries
  2. Proper Material Staging to Help Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries
  3. Worker Personal Health to Help Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries
  4. Refraining from Distracted Driving to Help Prevent Motor Vehicle Collisions

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Heavy Equipment Safety Training Video & Materials

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s Heavy Equipment Safety Training Video and its materials. This video reminds your workers that awareness is key to accident prevention when they are working around heavy equipment.

The video stresses the importance of:

  • Being aware at all times
  • Listening for backup alarms
  • Knowing what heavy equipment is operating nearby
  • Making sure equipment operators know where they are
  • Avoiding positioning themselves in any danger zones
  • Looking out for their coworkers

The video comes with a pocket guide that highlights key training points, a training documentation sheet, a 20-question multiple choice test, and a test answer key.

Download the Video and Accompanying Materials

 Video | Pocket Guide | Documentation Sheet | Test | Answer Key

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas.

Guardian Issues Immediate Stop Use & Inspect Notice on Select Self-Retracting Lifelines (SRLs)

Guardian has issued a Stop Use & Inspect Notice on a selection of Self-Retracting Lifelines (SRLs). This notice expands the scope of a previous notice (G-S006-A) and communicates immediate stop use and inspect information regarding a selection of Guardian SRLs with a cable lifeline and external energy absorber. In certain circumstances, the product’s energy absorber may not deploy and may cause serious bodily injury or death.

This notice only applies to the following SRL models:

  • Diablo Cable SRL-LE
  • Diablo Grande Cable SRL-LE
  • Diablo Big Block Cable SRL-LE
  • Velocity Cable SRL-LE
  • Halo Cable SRL-LE
  • Halo Big Block Cable SRL-LE
  • Private label versions of the models listed above
RECALL NOTICE

MCAA MICROLEARNING SAFETY VIDEO: Workplace Violence Protection

MCAA believes the timing is right to release a microlearning safety video on Workplace Violence Protection. This stand-alone microlearning safety video highlights the vital course of action to protect yourself and your co-workers in the event of a workplace violence incident, such as an active shooter.

If you have any microlearning safety video topics that you would like to offer, please reach out to our safety team at raffi@mcaa.org.

VIEW RESOURCE

The Next Qualified Level Arc Flash Safety Training Webinars Scheduled for October 21, 2021

Make sure your service techs have the up-to-date safety training they need to protect themselves from arc flash and electrical shock hazards while working on equipment pushing 480 volts or less. The session covers all applicable OSHA requirements, NFPA 70E provisions, best practices, and real-world accident information.

VIEW BROCHURE

The next two webinars will be presented on October 21, 2021. The first webinar will take place from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. ET, and the second is from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET.

REGISTER TODAY

Take advantage of the MCAA/MSCA member discounted webinar prices below.

PRICING:

# of Trainees (per company)Cost (per person)
1-5$200/person
6-10$175/person
11-25$150/person
26-50$125/person
51-100$100/person
101+Email for Pricing

If you can’t make it in October, the webinar will be taught again twice on November 18, 2021. Questions? Contact Raffi Elchemmas.

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Asbestos Awareness for the Mechanical Trades Safety Training Video & Materials

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s Asbestos Awareness for the Mechanical Trades Safety Training Video and its materials. This video will teach your workers to protect themselves from the hazards involved in working around microscopic asbestos fibers.

Your workers will learn:

  • What asbestos is
  • Where asbestos can be found on the jobsite
  • What the health hazards of asbestos exposure are
  • How to identify potential asbestos hazards
  • How to protect themselves from asbestos hazards

The video comes with a pocket guide that highlights key training points, a training documentation sheet, a 20-question multiple choice test, and a test answer key.

Download the Video and Accompanying Materials

 Video | Pocket Guide | Documentation Sheet | Test | Answer Key

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas.

MCAA/CNA MICROLEARNING SAFETY VIDEO SERIES: Refraining from Distracted Driving

At the beginning of the month, MCAA announced the launch of the NEW MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Video Series. Together with our partners in safety, CNA, we developed a series of easy-to-watch safety videos that are under 3-minutes! This week concludes the MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Video Series.

Please enjoy our fourth microlearning video on Refraining from Distracted Driving to Help Prevent Motor Vehicle Collisions.

VIEW RESOURCE

MCAA’s Safety & Health Initiative Highlights OSHA & CMS Response to the Vaccination Mandates

MCAA’s Safety & Health Initiative explains how the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are responding to the new vaccination mandates projected to affect two-thirds of American workers.

Last week the White House announced a national strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. During the speech, President Biden announced two Executive Orders and certain administrative actions that will increase mandates for vaccination in both government and private workplaces. Altogether, the vaccine requirements announced on September 9, 2021, are projected to affect about 100 million Americans, or two-thirds of American workers.

What You Need to Know

  • Vaccination Requirements for Employers with 100+ Employees – OSHA is developing an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work.
  • Vaccination Requirements for Federal Employees and Federal Contractors – Directs agencies to implement a program to require COVID-19 vaccination for all Federal employees by November 22, 2021.
  • Vaccination Requirements for Health Care Facilities – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care settings.

See the full memo, provided by our consultants at Alston & Bird, for the basic facts and an outline of the Biden Administration Executive Actions last week.

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Scaffold Safety Training Video & Accompanying Materials

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s Scaffold Safety Training Video and its materials. This video will teach your workers to protect themselves from the hazards inherent in working at heights on both mobile and stationary frame scaffolding.

Your workers will learn about:

  • Scaffold setup
  • Scaffold height and capacity limitations
  • Safe access
  • Fall prevention and protection
  • Safe work practices

The video comes with a pocket guide that highlights key training points, a training documentation sheet, a 20-question multiple choice test, and a test answer key.

Download the Video and Accompanying Materials

Video | Pocket Guide | Documentation Sheet | Test | Answer Key

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas.

MCAA/CNA MICROLEARNING SAFETY VIDEO SERIES: Proper Material Staging

Last week the MCAA announced the launch of the NEW MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Video Series. Together with our partners in safety, CNA, we developed a series of easy-to-watch safety videos that are under 3-minutes! Last week we highlighted Safe Lifting Techniques and each week, for the next three weeks, we will highlight the following videos: Proper Materials Staging, Personal Health, Distracted Driving.

Please enjoy our second microlearning on Proper Material Staging to Help Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries.

VIEW RESOURCE

MCAA/CNA MICROLEARNING SAFETY VIDEO SERIES: Safe Lifting Technique to Help Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries

MCAA is pleased to announce the launch of the NEW MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Video Series. Together with our partners in safety, CNA, we developed a series of easy-to-watch safety videos that are under 3-minutes long! Each week, for the next four weeks, we will highlight the following videos: 1. Safe Lifting Technique 2. Proper Materials Staging 3. Personal Health 4. Distracted Driving.

Please enjoy our first microlearning video on Safe Lifting Technique to Help Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries.

VIEW RESOURCE