Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Conference on Construction Safety scheduled Jan. 9-10

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 12, 2006) - The first conference in Kentucky that is specifically designed to improve safety in commercial and residential construction will be held Jan. 9-10 in Lexington.

The inaugural Conference on Construction Safety will take place at the Crowne Plaza Lexington-The Campbell House. The event is co-sponsored by the Kentucky Safety and Health Network, Inc. and the Kentucky Department of Labor.

The conference will provide the latest safety and health information from industry leaders to help employers and employees strive to eliminate workplace injuries and illness. Workshops will cover traffic control and "flagger" safety in highway construction; bilingual safety communication; excavation and electrical safety; scaffolding; the silica hazard; fall protection; building code amendments; construction partnership programs; construction safety management, and safety and liability issues in Kentucky workers’ compensation.

Participants will be afforded an opportunity to exchange ideas with leading safety and health professionals.

Under Governor Ernie Fletcher, the Kentucky Department of Labor, through its Office of Occupational Safety and Health, has offered training around the state for people in residential and commercial construction. The federal OSHA 10-hour training class for residential construction was offered in eight cities last year.

This year, the agency has held "focus four" training in seven cities - so named because the training is focused on the four largest categories of accidents and fatalities in residential and commercial construction: falls, electrocution, "struck by" objects and "caught between" objects.

"We are having this conference to provide specific outreach to the construction industry," said Philip J. Anderson, commissioner of the Department of Labor. "I am extremely pleased that all of Kentucky’s major construction associations - including Associated Builders and Contractors of Kentuckiana, Associated General Contractors of Kentucky, the Highway Contractors and Home Builders - have endorsed this conference and agreed to promote it to their members.

"With this type of cooperation, Kentucky’s inaugural Conference on Construction Safety promises to be a success," Anderson said.

For detailed Conference on Construction Safety information, visit www.labor.ky.gov <http://www.labor.ky.gov> or www.kshn.net <http://www.kshn.net>.