FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 23, 2012) – The Kentucky Labor Cabinet has entered into a construction safety partnership with Messer Construction and Berea College for the building of campus housing.
The $12 million project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2013.
The Construction Protection Partnership program, administered by cabinet’s Office of Occupational Safety and Health, Education and Training Division, is successful and participation is growing, said Labor Cabinet Secretary Mark Brown.
“The program is designed to last the life of the construction project with safety and health consultants from the Division of Education and Training making routine, scheduled visits to the site and conducting safety audits,” he said. “The Berea College site is Kentucky’s 12th active site, with others as far east as Pikeville and as far west as Paducah.”
The construction partnership is a voluntary arrangement in which safety and health experts make quarterly, consultative visits to the building site to provide extensive safety and health surveys.
Visits begin with an on-site conference of employees and subcontractors, followed by a walk-through inspection to identify hazards. Findings are discussed in a closing conference, followed within days by a detailed presentation of any hazards. In addition, abatement dates are set for deficiencies that have not already been corrected.
The last step is a detailed written report for the company. The partnership will continue until the construction project is complete.
Brown said the goals of the construction partnership are to detect inadequate safety programs, identify training needs, and to involve employees in monthly progress meetings and hazard identification.
“These construction agreements prove invaluable to both the Labor Cabinet and the construction crews. Partnerships help cabinet employees gain additional knowledge of the commercial construction industry and the contractors and subcontractors improve and maintain effective safety programs,” Brown said.
Messer Construction, founded in 1932, is a regional general contractor and construction manager providing leadership for complex building projects in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Indiana.
This is the fourth construction partnership between Messer and the Labor Cabinet.
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