Construction safety summit coming to Bend
A two-day training conference in Central Oregon will focus on the safety and health of workers in residential, commercial, and industrial construction. The Jan. 28-29 Mid-Oregon Construction Safety Summit will offer discussions of everything from fall protection and ladder safety to excavation hazards and prevention of pipeline damage.
Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA), a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, encourages employers and workers to attend the 18th annual summit at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes Convention Center in Bend.
The summit’s keynote speakers are Russ and Laurel Youngstrom, co-owners of Youngstrom Safety in the Seattle area. The Youngstroms are safety advocates and motivational speakers. In 1995, Russ Youngstrom, who was working for a painting company, fell from a scaffold and severed his spinal cord. The accident left him a paraplegic and changed the family’s life forever.
The Youngstroms have dedicated their lives to sharing their tragic experience in hopes that others will benefit from hearing their story. Their Jan. 29 keynote presentation, “It Won’t Happen to Me,” will emphasize the importance of personal accountability in workplace safety by offering two different perspectives on the permanent and ongoing consequences of ignoring safety precautions.
Russ Youngstrom said the attitude that ignores putting safety first can be summed up in two phrases: “It’s not worth it” and “I’ve got this.” Laurel Youngstrom said accidents affect families and friends. “You don’t want your family to get that phone call,” she said. “Being unsafe is selfish.”
The construction safety summit also offers opportunities for attendees to earn continuing education credits through Oregon’s Construction Contractors Board and Landscape Contractors Board. Certification and re-certification will be offered for first aid personnel and workzone flaggers. Moreover, the OSHA 10-hour training for construction certification will be offered.
The two-day summit’s other workshops include:
Construction A-Z. This session reviews the many hazards found in construction and demolition, and the best practices – and requirements – for correcting them. Scaffold user training. Planning for safety, every phase. Asbestos and lead awareness. Defensive driving strategies for central Oregon. Hand/power tools and personal protective equipment.
Registration for pre-conference workshops (Monday, Jan. 28) is $50. Conference registration (Tuesday, Jan. 29) is $85. Registration for the OSHA 10-hour training for construction is $140 for both days.
To register, go to http://safetyseries.cvent.com/events/2019. If you have questions or need help registering, call the Oregon OSHA Conference Section, 503-947-7411.
