UF TREEO Awarded $75,000 Federal Grant to Develop English and Spanish Training Materials for Ladder and Stairway Safety

 

The University of Florida’s Training, Research and Education for Environmental Occupations (UF TREEO) Center is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $75,000 Training & Education Materials Development grant from the U.S. Department of Labor through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program. This funding will support the development of comprehensive Ladder and Stairway Safety training materials aimed at enhancing safety for workers in construction and general industries.

The UF TREEO Center’s new training initiative will focus on providing critical safety education for a diverse and hard-to-reach audience, including youth, minorities, workers with limited English proficiency, and others who may not typically have access to such training. In line with these goals, all materials will be produced in both English and Spanish.

“Our aim is to create engaging and accessible safety training that will empower workers to recognize and mitigate risks associated with ladders and stairways,” said Andrew Campbell, Director of UF Office of Professional and Workforce Development which includes the UF TREEO Center. “This grant allows us to reach vulnerable populations and ensure that every worker, regardless of their background or language, has the tools and knowledge they need to stay safe on the job.”

Training topics will cover essential areas such as ladder types, equipment selection and maintenance, safety devices and support systems, identification of defective ladders, stairway rules, rail types, and worker empowerment. The program will also address the importance of training, attitude and behavior changes, and workers’ rights under OSHA standards.

To ensure effectiveness, the newly developed materials will undergo pilot testing during a training session for 20 workers and employers. This session will provide valuable feedback and allow for refinements before seeking OSHA approval and making the materials available on the Susan Harwood Grant materials website. With this initiative, UF TREEO aims to make workplaces safer and equip employers and workers with the knowledge to protect themselves and their colleagues from preventable injuries.

For more information, contact: Melissa Hamilton, 352-294-3879, melissajhamilton@treeo.ufl.edu

 

About the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program

Named after the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment, the grants are awarded to provide training and education programs for employers and workers on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces and to inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.