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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8151
Interactive computer programs that bring expert advice on health and
safety hazards to employers and workers are also bringing recognition to their
designers.
Staff from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and
30 public and private-sector partners will receive Vice President Gore's
prestigious Hammer Award today at ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
The group will be recognized for developing three "expert advisor"
computer programs featuring step-by-step guidance to prevent over-exposures to
cadmium, asbestos and lead, plus a fourth program that helps to determine key
safety steps needed for work carried out in confined spaces.
The presentation is scheduled to take place in the Truman Room of the
White House Conference Center, 726 Jackson Place, N.W., at 2:30 p.m.
"These programs help save lives and prevent illnesses and injuries, by
putting expert advice in the hands of employers and workers who might not
otherwise have access to or be able to hire consultants," said Gregory R.
Watchman, acting assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and
health. "They contribute directly to safer and healthier working conditions."
The interactive software also carries out the Vice President's objective
of providing access over the Internet to information about regulations and
health and safety that will help reduce costs, improve awareness and enhance
understanding, as spelled out in his recent publication, Access America.
The Hammer Award recognizes excellence achieved by teams helping to
reinvent government. Gore established the award as part of the National
Performance Review -- the national program to make government work better and
cost less. This is the 12th Hammer Award OSHA has received for its reinvention
programs.
In addition to Watchman, other speakers scheduled for the event are
Joseph C. Fowler, Assistant Executive Director, Laborers' National Health and
Safety Fund, Laborers' International Union of North America; and Frank H.
Livingston, CPM, CRE, Senior Vice President, Draper and Kramer, Inc., Chicago,
Ill. The presentation will be made by Bob Stone, National Performance Review
project director.
More than two years ago, OSHA began a computer program in partnership
with the International Cadmium Association to help workers determine for
themselves how their companies could comply with the complex cadmium
regulations.
This first Interactive Expert Advisor called "GOCAD" (the letters to be
typed into a computer to gain access to the program) paved the way for a second
Advisor on OSHA's asbestos standard and, most recently, a third Confined Spaces
Advisor on OSHA's "permit-required confined spaces" standard that requires a
permit for work to be performed in confined spaces. A fourth advisor, on the
lead in construction standard, is being tested and will soon be released. OSHA
has plans for more interactive advisory tools in the future.
OSHA's Advisors guide their users -- small business owners, safety and
health personnel in larger establishments, building owners and managers,
contractors and workers -- through the regulations by asking questions about
the user's worksite and the work performed there. The software relies on such
information technology as hypertext, which allows a user to call up additional
information on any highlighted word or phrase in the text.
"Users particularly like the instant pop-up glossary of terms in the
standard," said Edward Stern of OSHA's Directorate of Policy, who helped
provide overall direction for development of the software. "The Asbestos
Advisor also includes a list of frequently asked questions and answers, as well
as a glossary of highlighted words and phrases, to familiarize users with the
main features of the standard."
An estimated 80,000 businesses have used the Asbestos Advisor since it
first went on-line in October 1995. It was made available through the OSHA Home
Page on the World Wide Web on the Internet and by major trade associations and
corporations that distributed it to members and worksites.
In a month, the Advisors will be available for interactive use directly
from the Web and thus available to anyone with access to a public library.
The Confined Spaces Advisor, which was just released in final form, was
downloaded from the website about 6,000 times in the 11 months it was on the
Web for public testing. Altogether the Advisors have been downloaded almost
18,000 times.
The Advisors are available to the public under the heading OSHA
Software/Advisors at the OSHA Web address on the Internet: http://www.osha.gov.
FACT SHEET
Expert Advisors Project:
Labor, Business, Government Partners who assisted OSHA in testing,
refining and disseminating the expert advisors software:
Aluminum Corporation of America (ALCOA): Karen Krall,
Industrial Hygienist
American Iron and Steel Institute, Peter A. Hernandez, Vice
President Employee Relations
American Petroleum Institute, Andrew M. Jaques, Health & Environmental Department, State Fire Protection Group
Building Operating Management Magazine, Edward Sullivan,
Editor
Building Owners and Managers Association International
(BOMA), Michael A. Jawer, Assistant Vice President for
Government and Industry Affairs
Center to Protect Workers' Rights, Pamela Souzy
Consad Research Corporation, Wilbur A. Steger, President
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Alexis Winter, Safety and
Health Engineer
International Cadmium Association (ICA), Hugh Morrow,
President, and Edwin Seeger, Counsel
Laborers' National Health and Safety Fund, Laborers'
International Union of North America, Bill Kojola, Executive
Director, Joseph C. Fowler, Assistant Executive Director
National Multi-Housing Council and National Apartment
Association, Eileen C. Lee, Ph.D., Vice President
(Environment)
Organization Resources Counselors (ORC), Frank White,
President
Organization Resources Counselors (ORC), Darryl Mathias
Rubber Manufacturers' Association, Kim Pregartner-Weber,
Industrial Hygienist
Safe Buildings Alliance, Jeff Taylor, Vice President
Small Business Administration, Ronald F. Matzner, General
Counsel
United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Michael Buchet
United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Joe Durst, Industrial
Hygienist, Director of Field Services and Communications
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Robert E. Stout, Industrial
Hygiene Programs Manager
U.S. Army Reserve Command (Atlanta, Ga.), Gray Scott, Safety
and Occupational Health Manager
U.S. Navy, Northern Division/Naval Facilities Engineering
Command (Lester, Pa.), Thomas Snyder
U.S. Postal Service Technical Center, Norman, Okla., David
Lewis
USX, Joseph J. Schwerha, M.D., General Manager of Health
Services
The five Expert Advisor Teams:
Overall Direction and Support
Edward Stern, Supervisory Economist, OSHA, Directorate of
Policy--Facilitator for Expert Systems
David Hershfield, Ph.D., OSHA, Economist, Directorate of
Policy
Steve Brady, Webmaster, OSHA, Directorate of Technical
Support
GOCAD Team (Cadmium Biological Monitoring Advisor) - 1994
Caroline Freeman, Supervisory Health Scientist, OSHA,
Directorate of Health Standards
Melissa A. McDiarmid, M.D., OSHA, former Director, Office of
Occupational Medicine, Directorate of Technical Support
Michael Montopoli, M.D., OSHA, Directorate of Technical
Support
Robert Biersner, Attorney, USDOL, Office of the Solicitor
Jewelia Cameroon, Consultant
Asbestos Advisor Team - 1995
Carol Jones, Health Scientist, OSHA, Directorate of Health
Standards
Wanda Bissell, Industrial Hygienist, OSHA, Directorate of
Compliance Programs
Jack Powasnick, Attorney, USDOL, Office of the Solicitor
Edith Nash, Attorney, USDOL, Office of the Solicitor
Ronald Bird, Ph.D., Consultant
Lynn MacDonald, Consultant
Permit Spaces Advisor Team - 1996
Wendell Glasier, Safety Specialist, OSHA, Directorate of
Safety Standards
Sherman Williamson, Safety Engineer, OSHA, Directorate of
Safety Standards
Don Kallstrom, Safety Specialist, OSHA, Directorate of
Compliance Programs
Stephen Jones, Attorney, USDOL, Office of the Solicitor
Noah Connell, Attorney, USDOL, Office of the Solicitor
Thomas Mockler, Economist, OSHA, Directorate of Policy
Ronald Bird, Ph.D., Consultant
Lead in Construction Advisor - 1996
Kathryn Condit, Economist, OSHA, Directorate of Policy
Robert Manware, Industrial Hygienist, OSHA, Directorate of
Health Standards
Douglas Ray, Industrial Hygienist, OSHA, Directorate of
Construction
Jack Powasnick, Attorney, USDOL, Office of the Solicitor
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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