This pilot project funded by OSHA to PNASH, the NW Center for Occupational Safety and Health, and WSU Forestry Extension, supported a 1-year pilot safety and health training of restoration forestry services workers. The Northwestern US faces catastrophic wildfire risks and a rapidly emerging need for forest fuels reduction work. This work relies heavily on manual labor conducted by small private contract forest service firms, small forest landowners, young workers, and Spanish-speaking immigrant workers. This workforce is underserved, at high-risk for injury, low-income, hard-to-reach, and often with limited English. Our aims were to:
1) Conduct a regional needs assessment through key stakeholder interviews (WA, OR, ID),
2) Develop a training curriculum and materials
3) Deliver and evaluate two pilot training sessions (one in English, one in Spanish),
4) Formulate a four-year capacity building plan.
This program will be guided by internal and external Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and stakeholder advisories. The needs assessment and our previous research informed the final training topic selection. Training topics include: Struck-by Prevention & Situational Awareness, Chainsaw Safety, Pesticide Safety, Slips, Extreme Temperatures & Conditions, Health, Nutrician and Fatigue Management, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Safety Leadership, and Worker Rights and OSH. The final materials are currently under review by OSHA and will be made freely available on the OSHA and PNASH websites.