2008-10-04 00:12:41 - Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute, a Colorado nonprofit Trade Association, will provide free safety training to masons and masonry manufacturing facilities in CO, WY, Mont. and ID in 2009.

The Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute received a $247,863 grant from OSHA's Susan Harwood Foundation to conduct safety training in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The local nonprofit trade association is among 36 organizations nationwide awarded Occupational Safety and Health Administration Susan Harwood Training grants.
The grant will allow RMMI to provide free safety training to employees of masonry contractors, brick and

block manufacturers and masonry suppliers in the four-state service region which encompasses approximately 348,000 square miles.
In 2006, the region had a nonfatal worker injury rate 42% higher than the national average. The region had 8.4 incidents per 100 workers, as compared to the national incident rate of 5.9 per 100 workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During a one-year period from October 2006 to September 2007, OSHA issued 8,053 citations nationally to special trade contractors primarily engaged in masonry work. Two of the most frequently cited OSHA standards were 'Duty to have Fall Protection' and 'Training Requirements.' During that same period, in the service region for this grant, 103 citations were issued to special trade contractors. Scaffolds, specifically fall protection, accounted for more than 60% of these citations.
The free RMMI safety training program will be presented in English and Spanish, and will be accompanied by a safety training booklet illustrated with pictograms. A list of training locations and dates will be released in January.