NAHB News
SCAFFOLD SAFETY VIDEO IS ESSENTIAL FOR FALL PREVENTION
In an effort to increase jobsite safety and reduce the chance of job-related accidents, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently released its new Scaffold Safety Video. The video is available through BuilderBooks and is an important resource that provides easy-to-follow instructions on how to prevent construction-related falls.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the vast majority of falls are not from skyscrapers but from buildings as low as one to three stories, and from less than 30 feet. OSHA incident reports clearly indicate that scaffold safety training, procedures, supervision and equipment are critical to preventing accidents.
"We take jobsite safety very seriously, and education must be part of the equation for success," says NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a homebuilder from Point Pleasant, W.Va. "This new video provides great demonstrations and tips for protecting against falls and other jobsite injuries and will enhance any builder's scaffold safety efforts."
The video, which is made up of two 30-minute segments in English and Spanish, clearly demonstrates how to safely build, use and dismantle the most common types of scaffolding found in residential construction. These include fabricated frame, pump jack, ladder jack, mobile and aerial.
Both video segments highlight OSHA's general requirements for scaffolding and identify safe work practices that address the most common scaffold hazards on the job site. The Scaffold Safety Video is an excellent companion to the NAHB-OSHA Scaffold Safety Handbook, English-Spanish.
HOMEBUILDERS ADDRESS SAFETY ISSUES AMONG HISPANIC WORKERS
A special training tool developed by the Home Builders Institute and sponsored by Lowe's Corp. can considerably improve worksite safety among Hispanic workers and effectively addresses many of the concerns in a recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
The CDC study, released in June in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicated that Hispanic workers experience higher fatality rates than others on the jobsite. Construction sites represent a particular area of concern as the number of Hispanic workers in this occupation increases. Noting that the susceptibility to miscommunication caused by language differences is a key factor in this disturbing trend, the study recommends that specific efforts should be made to address that concern.
In fact, a newly developed industry tool that is being implemented on construction jobsites nationwide is aimed specifically at improving worksite safety among non-English speakers. This industry-specific training tool, introduced in mid-2007, is the Sed de Sabe-Construction Edition program, which teaches Spanish speakers English-language conversational skills and critical jobsite safety tips. Lowe's Commercial Services serves as the home improvement sponsor of the program.
"NAHB and the Home Builders Institute have long championed jobsite safety through our ongoing efforts and partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)," says 2008 NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a homebuilder from Point Pleasant, W.Va. "Evidence strongly suggests that communication is a major factor in improving safety, and with the growing number of Hispanic employees in our industry, it's extremely important that everyone on the jobsite understands one another."
Custom built by HBI and Retention Education, Inc., Sed de Saber-Construction Edition utilizes innovative Leapfrog technology to help Spanish speakers learn at their own pace and on their own time. The system teaches 500 words and 340 phrases, providing a functional level of English-language conversation and comprehension in about five months. With jobsite safety as a primary goal, the program relies on jobsite safety details from a jointly developed NAHB/OSHA Job Site Safety Handbook.
Pulte Homes, a nationwide builder, hosted the program in its Phoenix-based operations in late 2007. A group of Pulte employees completed their course of study using Sed de Saber-Construction Edition, experiencing an average 51 percent gain in English language proficiency.
BUILDERS OFFER CONGRESS RECOMMENDATIONS ON GREEN HOMES
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) testified before Congress on ways to improve sustainability and energy efficiency in housing while simultaneously supporting housing affordability.
Jerry Howard, NAHB executive vice president and CEO, spoke at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on H.R. 6078, the Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhood Act of 2008, also known as the Green wiz Act.
"Because federal housing programs are such a critical component of the nation's housing system, NAHB believes that it is important to ensure that the incorporation of sustainable building practices for these programs is accomplished in a thoughtful and practical manner," says Howard. "Also, it is important to maintain a balance between the goals of affordable housing development and maximizing energy efficiency."
Overly stringent or unrealistic goals for energy efficiency compliance could boost the cost of building affordable housing to a level that is not sustainable over the long term, he added. As the committee moves to adopt green criteria that would apply to federally assisted housing programs, Howard urged lawmakers to consider the following principles:
- Recognize and plan for a variety of green building rating systems to help increase the sustainability of federally assisted housing and allow for regular review and updating of these standards and criteria. Congress should avoid naming specific green criteria in federal legislation that may seem sufficient today, but that could become quickly outdated or unworkable in the very near term, Howard says.
- Provide necessary resources, including the additional staff and technology needed to implement the programs, as well as appropriations to help support the additional costs of building green.
- Structure new programs in a manner that allows them to be used easily with other housing programs, avoids duplicative rules and regulations and supports funding timelines in concert with other program rules.
- Provide financial and other incentives to developers and builders of affordable housing to help them meet and even exceed green building goals.
- Work with builders, lenders, the government sponsored enterprises, nonprofits, community groups, appraisers and others to develop attainable goals for the development of supportive financing mechanisms such as energy efficient and location efficient mortgages as well as appraisal standards that appropriately recognize the value of green building.
- Develop educational materials that can be used by the various stakeholders to learn and communicate best practices and promote sustainable federally assisted housing.
NAHB's experience and support for voluntary green building goes back to the early 1990s and predates many of today's green rating systems. Currently, the association is working with the International Code Council to complete a rigorous standards-developing process that will produce the first standard approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for green residential construction and remodeling the National Green Building Standard.
"The development of the National Green Building Standard is the most recent and most robust effort undertaken by the industry to encourage green building in residential construction," says Howard. "When completed, it will be the only ANSI-approved standard for residential construction."
As Congress works to incorporate green building in federal affordable housing programs, Howard added that NAHB looks forward to working with lawmakers to achieve the goal of increasing energy efficiency in all housing and ensure that the ability of these programs to serve low- and moderate-income Americans is maintained.
BUILDERS PREPARE FOR HURRICANE SEASON
The hurricane season that started in June and runs through the end of November is expected to spawn a near-normal to above-normal number of storms in the nation's Atlantic Basin region, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"Living in a coastal state means having a plan for each and every hurricane season," says retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "Planning and preparation is the key to storm survival and recovery."
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is calling for considerable hurricane activity with a 65 percent probability of an above-normal season and a 25 percent probability of the season being near-normal, giving the season a 90 percent likelihood of being normal or above-normal. For this year, there is a 60 percent to 70 percent chance of 12 to 16 named storms, according to the outlook, including six to nine hurricanes. Two to five hurricanes are predicted to be major and at least Category 3 storms.
Restoring business is an important part of recovery from disasters, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Businesses that plan for disaster before a storm typically have less damage and downtime than those that do not, the agency says.
FEMA advises businesses to consider several elements in preparing for a disaster. FEMA provides a step-by-step approach to emergency planning, response and recovery for companies of all sizes in its "Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry," which is in the agency's publication library.
