The Idaho Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program (OSHCON) at Boise State University co-hosted the Safety Fest of The Great Northwest in Boise on Jan. 24-27 at the Washington Group Plaza. Safety Fest is a free safety and health training event for the education of the Northwest’s region’s front line workers, supervisors, and managers of all levels. Safety Fest is an effort to increase awareness of and reduce the hazards presently causing injuries, fatalities, and illnesses. The training emphasized construction, general industry, and mine safety and health. Spanish classes were available. Other hosts of the Safety Fest of The Great Northwest include:
- URS Washington Division
- OSHA – Boise area office
- OSHA – Region 10 Office, Seattle
- Idaho AGC
- State of Idaho, Division of Professional Technical Education
- University of Washington
In addition to hosting the event, the OSHCON program had a vendor booth to promote the program and help educate the public on safety and health matters. The program generated numerous requests for consultation visits during the four-day event.
Jeff Thompson, director of OSHCON, concluded that “The Safety Fest of The Great Northwest was a great success and allowed the OSHCON program to fulfill our mission of promoting employees safety and health to companies throughout Idaho. Being part of Safety Fest gave the OSHCON program a tremendous opportunity to affect a large number of people in a very short period of time.”
Statistics from the Safety Fest organizers revealed that approximately 965 people attended from six states (Idaho, Washington, California, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Alabama). Employees from 231 companies registered for 47 classes and 1,913 seats were filled.
OSHCON Conducts Successful Outreach Training
OSHCON Consultants Matt Wattles, Judy Tallent, Kelly Nottingham and Kip Edwards conducted an OSHA 10-hour General Industry Outreach Training course for approximately 40 participants. The 10-hour OSHA course covered safety regulations as they pertain to general industry. Topics included Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Blood Borne Pathogens, Hazard Communication, Means of Egress, Fire Protection, Electricity, Machine Guarding, and Tools. The courses were extremely well received and the OSHCON program received tremendous student feedback evaluations.