Fraudulent safety certificates are surfacing around New York city, raising more concerns that the area’s safety training programs are in serious trouble.
Officials last month discovered a fake safety training certificate, complete with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) logo, trainee’s name and trainer’s signature, at a violation-troubled construction site. (NY Daily News)
Joao Dias, the card’s owner told officials that he had never received any OSHA training in return for the card, had never even met the “trainer” who signed it, and that a site foreman gave him the card.
The city of New York is no stranger to problems related to OSHA training. A New York Daily News investigation published earlier this year exposed a widespread network of fraudulent construction safety programs.
The list of alleged offenses include trainers teaching 10-hour federal OSHA courses in two hours and students taking classroom breaks with a beer or two at the bar.
New York city has since pledged to crack down on the “dangerously negligent” attitude toward mandatory safety training, but the problem may be more widespread than officials thought as fraud-related violations resurface.
Cutting corners when it comes to safety training is always a risky road to travel. Read some of our related posts on the dangers of cutting safety out of the budget and how to save money on employee training:
Investing in leadership development during a downturn
Recession-proof employee training tips
Is our economy causing more workplace injuries?
Employee training and the 2009 budget battle
No comments:
Post a Comment