Operating Engineers 324 and MIOSHA renew partnership for safer workplaces
HOWELL, Michigan – Operating Engineers 324 and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) gathered Wednesday afternoon at the Operating Engineers 324 Construction Career Center for a commemorative signing of the agreement which partners OE324 and MIOSHA for another three years. The partnership, part of the MIOSHA Alliance, was officially renewed in April.
Operating Engineers 324 and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) Alliance partnership goes back nearly a decade, and provides the 15,000 OE324 Apprentices, Journeypersons, and Instructors with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of workers, particularly by reducing and preventing exposure to Mobile Equipment, Excavation, Crane Operation, Stationary Operations and Maintenance hazards.
“Operating Engineers 324 represents the safest, most well-trained workforce available,” said Operating Engineers 324 Business Manager Douglas W. Stockwell. “We prove it every day, with coordination and support from our signatory contractors, on the job sites and at our training centers. One of the strongest examples of that is our strong partnership with MIOSHA. When we train safer and learn better techniques, we help make sure that our goal – to provide a healthy, safe, and efficient professional workforce – remains met at the highest standard. This partnership helps us do exactly that.”
“We’re pleased to renew this alliance that brings together our organizations to expand education, outreach and information sharing throughout the state,” said Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) Consultation Education Training Division Director Tarah Kile. “This alliance continues to provide great training opportunities to help create safer construction sites throughout Michigan.”
Through the Alliance, MIOSHA shares safety and health information with Operating Engineers 324 instructors, who then include the information in classes and trainings. Physical and mental health data, best practices, emerging techniques, and other safety practices are all shared. Operating Engineers 324, in turn, provides data and works with MIOSHA to review standards and practices, and invites collaboration with practical instruction.
“The partnership between Operating Engineers 324 and MIOSHA allows us the collaborative relationship to help our members become more healthful and safe,” said Operating Engineers 324 Training Director John Osika. “It also creates a better awareness for members that MIOSHA exists to help them and keep them safe. We can share our experiences and knowledge with them to help shape better techniques and standards,”
The ceremonial signing was held at the 560-acre Operating Engineers 324 Construction Career Center in Howell, one of four advanced training sites OE324 maintains across the state. It took place in front of the building site for a new 90,000 square foot indoor arena the union is building to expand its year-round training abilities.
About OE324:
We Build, We Operate, We Maintain. The members of Operating Engineers 324 have kept Michigan moving onward and upward for over a century. Our 15,000 members operate the heavy machinery that propels construction on the roads, bridges, buildings, energy plants, pipelines, airports, and nearly every large-scale project in the state. Our highly skilled members operate cranes, dozers, trucks, excavators, and countless other equipment that is propelling us into the future. OE324 also represents and trains the technicians who fix and repair this equipment and keep downtime to a minimum, as well as highly skilled Stationary Engineers who operate and tend complex boiler and HVAC systems and perform highly technical building maintenance.
