Annual Report 2007

Preparing Students for Safety in the Workplace s part of an effort to increase job safety training and awareness among younger Americans, GTRI scientists have joined with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other groups to introduce health and safety training to Georgia high schools. The aim is to ensure that young workers grasp job-safety basics before they ever reach the workplace. The effort stems from a 2006 agreement between OSHA, GTRI, Georgia schools and other groups to make safety and health training more available to the state’s students. “Today, it’s an effort for many people in the workforce to remember safety basics – for example, to put their safety glasses on when working with chemicals,” said Michelle Dunham, A a GTRI research scientist. “We want to make it automatic for young people joining the workforce to take those kinds of precautions – the same way they always put on a seatbelt in a car because that’s what they’ve grown up doing.” Students attend a 10-hour course that is teamtaught by OSHA and Georgia Tech instructors, as well as industry representatives. The modular course covers general safety and health information, as well as instruction pertaining to students’ areas of work specialization. “There are lots of different modules, and depending on the school, they’ll vary,” Dunham said. “We’ve started out teaching students going into the construction trades, but the course could be helpful to students in other study areas, such as automotive and medical services.” Those graduating from the course receive the OSHA 10-hour card, which can give them an advantage with employers wanting to comply with OSHA regulations. The course is rigorous, Dunham notes, and missing even a single class means a student will not receive the card. “We decided that this was an adult learning process,” she said. “Students had to learn that this was like being on a job.” Dunham, an industrial hygienist, explains that the Georgia Tech Safety and Health Program also works directly with industry. Georgia Tech staff members perform on-campus training and consultation at the OSHA Training Institute Education Center, and also at job sites throughout Georgia and the Southeast. A GTRI scientist conducts OSHA workplace-safety classes at a metro-Atlanta high school. www.gtri.gatech.edu http://www.gtri.gatech.edu

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Annual Report 2007

Annual Report 2007 Contents From the Director Research at GTRI Defense and Security Health and Human Systems Energy and Environment Manufacturing Technologies Information and Communication Technologies GTRI Around the World Interdisciplinary Research Centers The Laboratories of GTRI Georgia Tech Ireland GTRI by the Numbers GTRI and Georgia Tech Supporting Breakthrough Research GTRI Professional Education The People of GTRI

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.