Workplace training, safety grants available
If you have a dazzling idea for a workplace safety or health training program, Oregon OSHA wants to hear your pitch.
The agency is accepting grant applications for the creation of innovative on-the-job safety and health training programs. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4. Oregon OSHA encourages unique projects such as mobile apps, videos, or online educational games to engage workers.
The training grants will focus on programs that target a high-hazard Oregon industry, such as construction or agriculture, or a specific work process to reduce or eliminate hazards. Any employer, labor group, school affiliated with a labor group, or nonprofit organization may apply. Applicants may request up to $40,000 per grant project.
Employers are not allowed to use grants to pay for training for their employees. Materials produced by grant recipients become the property of Oregon OSHA. Many of the materials are housed in the Oregon OSHA Resource Center and are available for use by the public. Some materials are available electronically.
Some examples of past grant projects include:
Spanish-language flip charts designed to help prevent heat-related illness among forest workers Creation of safe design guidelines for anchoring systems used as part of logging operations An educational program for nurses to prevent ergonomic-related injuries
The Oregon Legislature launched the Occupational Safety and Health Education and Training Grant Program in 1990. Award recommendations are made by Oregon OSHA’s Safe Employment Education and Training Advisory Committee, a group with members from business, labor, and government.
Grant application information is available at http://osha.oregon.gov/edu/grants/Pages/default.aspx. For more information, contact Teri Watson at 503-947-7406 or teri.a.watson@oregon.gov.
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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state’s workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, visit www.osha.oregon.gov.
The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to www.dcbs.oregon.gov.
