OSHA Seeks to Cut Injuries at PPL Construction Site

Construction has started on the new in and a program is underway to try to prevent injuries on the work site.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is joining with Skanska USA Building Inc., the general contractor managing the construction of the facility, to implement safe practices on the job.

“When you look at the injury rate and trends, it’s to make sure those rates stay below the industry” average, said Joanna Hawkins, spokeswoman for OSHA in the Philadelphia region.

The construction of the 99,860 square foot center at 7231 Windsor Drive is expected to take about 18 months. The facility is in the Iron Run subdivision north of Interstate 78 near the intersection of Route 100. About 150 employees will move into the center, including some from PPL's existing site on Hausman Road in South Whitehall. 

OSHA's partnership with Skanska started with a written agreement in which the company signs on to using certain safe practices and working with its subcontractors to use them also. Such OSHA/industry partnerships elsewhere have resulted in much lower rates of work time lost from employees being injured on the job and fewer worker's compensation claims, according to the agency.

As part of the program, employees review safety plans and take part in walk-through inspections, for example. Companies learn how to identify and correct hazards without OSHA being on the worksite.