 The SEAA Board of Directors announces that its 48th Convention and Trade Show, previously scheduled for April 2021 in Orlando, Fla., will now take place Oct. 12-14, 2021. The meeting will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton at the entrance to Universal, in Orlando, Fla.
“In order to accommodate evolving recommendations for in-person gatherings related to the coronavirus pandemic, the Convention Committee has set the new dates with high hopes that the environment will be back on track by the third quarter,” said Carrie Gulajan, Convention Committee Chairperson. “We made this decision based on travel industry projections and watching what other trade organizations are doing. We feel strongly that the biggest value to be gained is from in-person networking,” she said. Details of the agenda are being finalized, but the tentative program is as follows: Tuesday, Oct. 12: Education and Training Fundraiser Golf Tournament Wednesday, Oct. 13: Exhibitor Setup, Project of the Year Award Winners Panel Discussion, Welcome Reception Thursday, Oct. 14: Trade Show and Indoor and Outdoor Exhibitor Demos, Education Sessions, Closing Night Awards and Reception Hotel, meeting, and trade show registration links will open by February 15.  In April 2019, the final piece of the OSHA Cranes & Derricks Standard 29CFR 1926.1400 came into effect. This requires employers to conduct evaluations of crane operators to ensure that they are certified and qualified. If an employer is not conducting evaluations of their crane operators, they are not in compliance with OSHA.
Once the operator has been successfully evaluated for the necessary skills and knowledge for the size and configuration of the crane they plan to operate, they may operate similar equipment. In order to do so, it must be determined that it does not require considerably different skills, knowledge, or ability to recognize and avert risk. Operators must demonstrate their skills and knowledge, which includes understanding of crane configuration, counterweight setup, use of safety devices and operational aids, and other items. The OSHA Crane & Derricks standard 29CFR 1926.1400 took almost 10 years to fully come into effect. Rigger & Signal persons had to be qualified by November 2010 and crane operators had to be certified by November 2017. The final piece, the requirement to evaluate operators, is now also in force. Best Practices
Resources: OSHA Enforcement Memo Free Operator Evaluation Form Operator Qualification final rule https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.1427 This Safety Flash was contributed by Bryan McClure, Senior Safety Consultant, Trivent Safety Consulting in cooperation with SEAA’s Safety Committee. It is designed to keep members informed about ongoing safety issues and to provide suggestions for reducing risk. Best practices are gathered from a variety of sources. They may be more or less stringent than individual corporate policies, and are not intended to be an official recommendation from SEAA. Always get approval and direction from your company officers on any new practice or procedure as these best practices may not work for all situations. Everyone benefits when a worker avoids injury. Submit your ideas for Safety Flash to executivedirector@seaa.net  A student working through the hands on portion of the Trivent Fall Protection Rescue training in Texas. This month, SEAA spotlights member company Trivent Safety Consulting out of Westminster, Colorado. Trivent Safety is a nationwide OSHA safety, training and compliance consulting team. Bryan McClure is one of the owners of Trivent and has been a member of SEAA since 1992. Bryan joined the SEAA Board of Directors in 2017. As a full-service OSHA consulting group, Trivent Safety Consulting can help your company develop, implement, and maintain a safety & health program that not only meets, but exceeds OSHA’s requirements to provide a safe & health work environment. With over 75 years of combined expert safety & health training experience Trivent instructors make every class a training experience that will relate back to their work environment. Trivent can be found online at https://www.triventsc.com/ We encourage you to follow both Trivent Safety Consulting on Facebook and Linkedin to keep up with the latest. If your company would like to participate in our Member Spotlight series, submit your information here.
Reduce Spread of Coronavirus in Construction with While the world continues to wait for a vaccine for COVID-19, employers will need to remain up to date and vigilant on safety protocols on the jobsite, especially as we head into the winter months.
A study, published on October 29, 2020, by the University of Texas at Austin, found a connection between construction sites that did not have COVID-19 restrictions in place, and higher hospitalization rates in surrounding areas. The study, based on residents in the Austin-Round Rock metro area, discovered that the risk of coronavirus hospitalization in the construction industry is five times more than other occupations. However, on construction sites where safety measures were in place, including equipment cleaning, protective equipment and limits on worker capacity, transmission risk was decreased by 50%. As of October 30, 2020, OSHA has cited 144 establishments, with penalties totaling over $2 million dollars. While the majority of violations are in healthcare and food processing, the construction industry can use this information to better understand what the most frequent citations are. It is recommended by the CDC and OSHA that employers create a plan to protect employees to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on construction job sites. CPWR has created an Exposure Control Planning Tool that can help employers develop a written plan to help protect employees, keep job sites open, and help prevent delays.
In addition, plans are underway for the 2021 George R. Pocock Memorial Golf Tournament and a tour of Universal Studios. Headlining the convention will be speaker Bob McCall, President of Inspire High Performance, LLC. He will draw on more than 30 years of experience in the utility industry to address leadership, culture, expectations, and behaviors that need to be changed. McCall will follow up his inspirational opening presentation, 5 Steps to Improving your Team’s Safety Performance, with a workshop later in the week.
The convention will include other sessions on management or field topics. Plus, winners of the annual Project of the Year competition will present case studies of their structural steel erection jobs. Registration is now open online for exhibitors and attendees. Learn more at seaa.net/events. How to become a SEAA/NCCER Training Unit/Assessment Site Tim Eldridge, SEAA’s Craft Training and Assessment Administrator, will discuss how to become a member of SEAA’s network of Craft Training providers. Participation in the program provides SEAA member companies with access to nationally recognized credentials for ironworkers. Benefits include reduced costs and administrative requirements. Because of SEAA’s affiliation with NCCER, members also have access to the dozens of other construction craft training materials, assessments, and certifications. Common Rigging Mistakes Scott Seppers, a former rigger and ironworker, warns that employers should never assume those doing rigging have all the knowledge and training to account for the many variables affecting rigging scenarios. Drawing on 19 years of field experience and leadership as a general foreman and trainer for Trivent Safety Consulting, Seppers will identify some of the most common mistakes made in rigging. Make Your Quality System Work for You Continuous change to the AISC Certification program keeps erectors scrambling to keep up with Quality and Safety Management Systems. Lee Pielaet of Pioneer Steel Services, Inc., has conducted more than 1,000 AISC audits. He’ll share his experience to help erectors achieve, manage, and upgrade AISC certifications. Structural Steel Field Fixes & Solutions Problems encountered during construction and erection of structural steel buildings often requires field fixes. Dr. James Fisher, Ph.D., P.E., is Vice President Emeritus for CSD Structural Engineers. He will share case studies, common problems, and how to respond when they occur. Workforce Development is a Team Effort A panel discussion, moderated by Tracy Bennett, SEAA’s Managing Editor of Connector and marketing consultant, includes experts representing technical education, craft training, curriculum development, and apprenticeship. The discussion will include trends in CTE education, practical tips for establishing workforce development and how to get funding for training and apprenticeships. Top Notch Networking SEAA’s focused trade show offers erector and fabricator companies to see the latest products, services and innovations they need for safer, more productive work sites. Regularly rated as a favorite part of the meeting by attendees, exhibitors are encouraged to reserve booths early as space is limited.  Join SEAA in Tampa, Fla., on January 21, 2021, for a Meet and Greet reception following the Board of Directors meeting. The reception provides members and non-members an opportunity to get to know other steel erection contractors in the area and learn more about how SEAA supports its members through advocacy, best practices, and shared resources. At the event, you can find out how the association can help you implement ironworker craft training through the SEAA/NCCER Craft Training Program. RSVP for the reception online.
 NCCER’s new Find a Center training map lets craft trainees and entry-level workers search over 3,300 locations open to the public. Users can filter by location and specific crafts, such as welding, pipefitting or carpentry, to find training in their area.
For experienced craft professionals looking to take a journey-level assessment, the Find a Center assessment map provides testing facilities by location or company name. NCCER’s complete series of journey-level written assessments evaluate the knowledge of an individual in a specific craft area and provide a prescription for upgrade training when needed. Check out the map and view a directory of accredited organizations.  This month, SEAA spotlights members Gardner-Watson Decking & Gardner-Watson Studs. The Florida-based sister companies are currently working on a massive, 3.8 million sq. ft. Amazon facility in Wilmington, DE, pictured above. Previously, GW Deck has completed work at the new Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL and at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios. Click here to see photos and an extensive list of GW Deck's past work. Gardner-Watson Decking has been in business since 2005, installing approximately 35,000,000 square feet of metal deck annually. To complement this highly successful outfit, Gardner-Watson Studs was founded in 2019, allowing for the provision of turn-key services for customers. GW Studs can be found online at www.gwstuds.com GW Decking can be found online at www.gwdeck.com We encourage you to follow both Gardner-Watson Decking and Gardner-Watson Studs on Facebook to keep up with the latest. If your company would like to participate, submit your information here.
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