2012 Iron Workers/IMPACT North American Labor-Management ...

APPRENTICESHIP DEPARTmENT REPoRT
Lee Worley
The Year of Zero
Do the ironworker apprentice instructors and
coordinator at your local union apprenticeship
and training program practice what they
teach?
The answer is “yes” provided the instructors and
trainers continuously repeat at the beginning of class
the following statement found in the course syllabus.
“The importance of safety will be addressed and reinforced
in all hands-on activities in the classroom, in the
shop, and on the job site.”
Apprenticeship training is a combination of classroom
learning, hands-on training at a school or related
training center, and on the job training. To produce a
professional journeyman ironworker all three of these
areas of training must work hand-in-hand. For the
hands-on portion of training it is essential that, to
the greatest extent possible, actual jobsite conditions
are recreated using mock-ups. Recently it has been
brought to my attention that a few of our schools do
not require the use of personal protection equipment
(PPE) during their hands on training. I cannot emphasize
enough how important it is to train our members
to wear the proper PPE at all times, whether it is at
school, on the job, or working on a home project.
The effects of letting an apprentice “slide by” at
the school without wearing a hardhat when there is
an overhead hazard or not tying off when learning
how to do structural work can be catastrophic not
only to the individual and his family, but also to the
training center, local union, the contractor and the
union movement as a whole. We all know that the old
saying “Do as I say, not as I do” method of raising children
is a recipe for disaster. Children will mimic the
behavior of the adult role models around them. Apprentices
are similar. I have heard many instructors
and coordinators complain that the greatest obstacle
they face as safety trainers is that what they teach
at the school regarding safety is often contradicted
by what is actually happening on the job. When a
training center allows safety rules to be broken, the
apprentice is not going to take them seriously on the
job and this has dire consequences for everyone.
When conducting hands-on skills training (placing
deck, connecting iron, tying rebar, demonstrating rigging
techniques), determining the content of training
for apprentices at higher levels of risk is similar to
determining what any apprentice needs to know. The
same emphasis should be placed on the risk and the
possibility of injury as though working on the job.
Just as on the jobsite a useful tool for identifying
possible hands-on skills training hazards and skills
demonstration requirements
is the Job Hazard Analysis.
This procedure examines
each step of a job, identifies
existing or potential hazards,
and determines the best way
to perform the job in order to
reduce or eliminate the hazards.
Its key elements are:
• Job description
• Job location
• Key steps (preferably in the order in which they are
performed)
• Tools, equipment and materials needed and used
• Actual and potential safety and health hazards associated
with these key job steps
• Safe and healthful practices, PPE, and equipment
required for each job step
Learning objectives do not necessarily have to be
written, but in order for the training to be safe and as
successful as possible, clear and measurable objectives
should be thought out before the training begins. For
an objective to be effective it should identify as precisely
as possible what the individuals will do to safely
demonstrate that they have learned, or that the objective
has been safely reached. They should also describe
the important conditions under which the individual
will safely demonstrate competence and define what
constitutes acceptable safe performance.
An effective program of safety and health training
for ironworker apprentices and JIWs can result in
fewer injuries and illnesses at the training facility and
on the job.
For our employers a safe and healthy workforce
equals lower insurance premiums and a greater ability
to secure work for our members. Thus, let us continue
to train and work safe at the training center, on the
job, and working on a home project!
Two apprentices safely
performing a demonstration
donning proper PPE (body
harness, lanyard, hard hat,
boots and gloves).
An apprentice tying rebar
during a local competition.
MARCH 2012 21