June 7, 2012

When job safety council was founded in 1932, 20 people died at work every day in Washington

Photo courtesy of Evergreen Safety Council [enlarge]

Eric Tofte, ESC director of training and consulting, conducts excavation safety training.

When a local business or organization needs to train its employees in defensive driving, first aid or how to handle a forklift, chances are it may turn to the Evergreen Safety Council.

The Seattle-based council is the Northwest's largest, independent, nonprofit organization providing safety and health training and consultation services to businesses and organizations. About 40,000 people each year receive training from the council in classrooms, on site or from individuals it has trained.

The council is celebrating its 80th year.

In 1932 when it was established, about 20 people a day died on the job in Washington. In 2011, there were 69 workplace fatalities, said Tom Odegaard, ESC's executive director.

Odegaard said the numbers have fallen because high-risk jobs such as logging and mining don't make up as much of the state's economy, industry safety practices have improved, and there's more regulation and safety training, such as that provided by ESC.

“There's been a real improvement in Washington compared to 1932, and no one will be satisfied of course until we get that down to zero,” he said.

The council (then the Seattle Safety Council) was originally chartered by the National Safety Council to teach consumers safe driving as roads became increasingly congested with automobiles and trucks. It has expanded to provide safety and health programs. The organization also provides safety audits at workplaces, conducts ergonomic assessments and performs accident investigations.

Among its clients are utilities such as Puget Sound Energy and Seattle City Light. Other clients include CenturyLink, cities such as Renton and Tacoma, state agencies, and private contractors and manufacturers, including Mowat Construction Co., Nucor Steel and Genie.

Among its classes are ladder safety, confined-space entry and rescue, driving safety, fire safety, fall protection, fire prevention, electrical safety, and how to prevent and deal with workplace violence.

Additionally, it trains people to be flagger, forklift, driving and pilot escort vehicle operator instructors. And its certificate courses include traffic control supervisor and health and safety specialist.

People who work in safety programs at businesses or organizations can get certification through the council. But when the recession hit, some organizations cut their safety manager or stopped training for things not required by regulation, said Odegaard.

Instead, a number of them had the council teach specific safety topics on-site.

“Regardless of the economy, it's often less expensive for the employer to have us come to them rather than them sending people to us,” Odegaard said.

The council's current fiscal year budget is $2.2 million; it was about $1.9 million in each of the 2010 and 2009 fiscal years. More than 95 percent of that money comes from services it provides, the rest from dues paid by its 250 members, although it also serves non-members.

Odegaard said that for every dollar an organization invests in safety it gets a return in terms of less employee downtime, lower insurance and workers' compensation costs, fewer injuries and less damage to equipment.

Frank Coluccio Construction Co. of Seattle and Hawaii has used the council to investigate on-the-job accidents. It has provided detailed reports with solutions, “not just fault finding,” said Ray Clouatre, the firm's corporate safety director.

The council has also taught employees how to be flaggers and traffic control supervisors. This is important as a lot of the firm's work is civil construction of utilities and a lot of that is in the roadway, said Clouatre.

The council has also trained Coluccio employees to become safety officers for the firm, and it has provided on-site training in topics that include fall protection and electrical hazards.

Clouatre said the council presents the training in a light and lively way, but gets the information across and helps prevent accidents.

“A lot of training is boring, but Evergreen's instruction is not boring,” he said.

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