Members of 103rd CES earn OSHA certification

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chad Warren
  • 103rd Airlift Wing

Members of the 103rd Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) partnered with industry safety experts recently to conduct Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training at Bradley Air National Guard Base in East Granby, Conn.

 

Enacted in 1970, The Occupational Safety and Health Act established OSHA as a federal agency that sets guidelines and regulations for workplace safety. Additionally, the act mandated into law the right to a safe workplace as a basic human right.

 

“The idea is that these guys are better able to recognize hazards in the workplace and protect themselves from those hazards,” said Master Sgt. (Ret.) John Donnelly, OSHA Federal Compliance Officer and former member of the 103rd CES.

 

The 103rd CES routinely undertakes industrial-scale projects, which could potentially entail significant risks for someone who is unaware of the hazards. The training bridges that gap and prepares the unit to recognize and eliminate workplace risks. In addition to increasing safety for the unit as a whole, the training provides a marketable certification that is valuable in the civilian sector.

 

“It’s important to understand the safety aspects for all of the construction projects and everything that we do, not only in the military but civilian life as well,” said Master Sgt. Daniel Reilly, 103rd CES. “This gives people a certification not only for the military but in the civilian sector, and it also gives them awareness.”

 

According to Reilly, the training was a testament to the unit’s partnership with the community and commitment to workplace safety. It is his vision to have safety at the forefront of any project, and this was a critical step in continuing the trend of safety excellence.

 

“This incorporates a lot of community partners than we have, people who are doing this stuff with the industry standards outside, working with other governmental compliance safety agencies as well,” he said. “I don’t want to have safety treated like just a check box, I want it incorporated into our culture.”