When it comes to the construction industry, safety is a critical part of the everyday work environment. Precast concrete company owners and employees need to stay vigilant at all times, and NPCA is committed to providing the resources that can help them establish a strong safety culture and maintain a safe work environment.
The Safety Committee focuses on providing guidance to NPCA member companies to achieve excellence in safety programs and acts as a catalyst for integrating safety in the precast industry. These safety resources are available for use to develop your plant-specific safety manual, educate and train plant personnel and promote a safe culture in the plant environment.
NPCA Safety Awards sponsored by:
The NPCA Safety Videos
6 Modules, 1 Goal … SAFETY
Train your precast plant employees on the essentials of safety best practices with the NPCA Safety videos. From equipment to production, each of the six modules focuses on a category of safety best practices and is perfect for toolbox talks or your next safety meeting.
Safety Video Exams
Download the exams for employees to take after viewing the safety videos:
New Hire Safety Training Exam with Answers
Silica Exposure Control Plan: NPCA Has You Covered
To help precast manufacturers comply with the new OSHA silica exposure rule, NPCA and PCI created a written silica exposure control plan manual. The manual is available on the NPCA Shop and is free for NPCA and PCI member companies.
The rule is comprised of two standards: one for construction and one for general industry and maritime. Precast concrete manufacturing falls under the general industry standard, 29 CFR 1910. The new standard establishes an 8-hour, time-weighted average permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter and an action level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Review the standard here.
The standard also requires other employee protections such as performing exposure assessments, using exposure control methods, establishing regulated areas, using respiratory protection, developing and implementing a written exposure control plan, offering medical surveillance, developing hazard communication information and keeping silica-related records. Learn more about employer requirements here.
Visit the NPCA Shop for your copy of the precast-specific Occupational Health Program & Written Exposure Control Plan for Respirable Crystalline Silica, available free to NPCA members. Learn more about how the respirable crystalline silica standard affects precasters, which employers can claim exclusions, and other NPCA member resources on the topic here.
You can watch a video in English or Spanish as an introduction to respirable crystalline silica compliance. The video outlines what employers can do to prevent overexposure.
Safety Hot Topics
Visit our safety blog for the latest Safety Hot Topics to prepare your plant. For additional information on Safety Hot Topics, please contact NPCA Technical Services.
Bimonthly Safety Training
The Safety Committee created a bimonthly safety training series for precasters to use for conducting safety programs at their plant. Each program consists of a PowerPoint, a copy of the program from the NPCA Guide to Plant Safety and additional materials.
OSHA Updates
OSHA regulations play a major role in the precast concrete industry. Check back here often for updates on important changes, updates and pending regulations.
Webinar
Resources
- OSHA Electronic Injury Reporting Fact Sheet
- OSHA Silica Exposure Fact Sheet
- Crane Certification FAQs
- NPCA Safety Hot Topics
