OSHA inspections ongoing until Sept.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will conduct surprise inspection visits to about 50 more job sites and workers barracks through the middle of September 2005.

Frank Strasheim, administrator of OSHA Region 9, reported yesterday that federal labor officials had visited about 100 workplaces in the garment, construction, and maritime industries, as well as employees housing, since arriving on island on Aug. 2, 2005.

Although Strasheim will be heading to Guam today, his colleagues will stay to continue conducting inspections on Saipan.

In an interview, Strasheim expressed satisfaction with the improvements made by local business with regard to workplace health and safety.

He said there were hardly any violations found in the garment industry.

He reiterated that poor water quality and fall hazards, particularly in the construction industry, were still the most common violations. But he also commended local building contractors for their willingness to comply with OSHA regulations voluntarily. Such attitude, he said, was evident in the industry’s participation in health and safety training sessions held recently. Some 40 construction workers were trained to teach health and safety, while about 60 others attended seminars on health and safety during the past two weeks.

Strasheim also observed an overall improvement in local businesses’ attitude toward OSHA as a regulatory agency. “There’s been a lot of improvement compared to the years past. Employers seem to understand and accept what we’re doing much better. We’ve seen desire by an overwhelming majority to comply,” he said.

The Governor’s 3rd Annual Health and Safety Conference concluded last Friday. Held at the World Resort Saipan in Susupe, the weeklong event was attended by 385 individuals from the public and private sectors in the CNMI, Hawaii, Guam, and Micronesian island nations.

Panel discussions on environment, health, public safety, and other topics were held every morning. Afternoon breakout training sessions were conducted in three separate tracks: construction industry, general industry, and public sector training, where participants can receive OSHA 502 and 503 certifications.

First aid and CPR training in English, Tagalog, and Mandarin Chinese, as well as maritime and shipyard training was also held on Aug. 19.