OSHCON provides free occupational safety and health services to small businesses in the state of Idaho. These services help businesses to understand and comply with rules and regulations required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Each year, the Idaho Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program (OSHCON), housed in Boise State’s Center for Excellence for Environmental Health, participates in Safety Fest of the Great Northwest. The OSHCON program is focused on helping small businesses pass any OSHA inspections and keep their employees safe and a stellar safety record.
The Safety Fest offers free workshops about safety training in key locations around Idaho. The locations include: Post Falls, Boise, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Pocatello, and Lewiston. The Local Highway Technical Assistance Council organizes the event and also participates in the executive planning committee for the Boise location. Attendees include frontline workers in small businesses from the Northwest Region in the construction, transportation, and other related industries.
Due to the pandemic, the Safety Fest of the Great Northwest faced challenges such as not being able to have in-person instruction. To overcome this, all six Idaho committees joined together and offered this event in a completely virtual format. The turnout for this event was incredible. Over the course of three days, over 90 free safety classes were taught to over 1,400 attendees.
By: Hannah McNamee