Plans under way to serve maritime industry with safety courses
NORTH BAY – The Chabot-Las Positas Community College District OSHA Training Center in Dublin, the only authorized OSHA Training Institute in Northern California, is working on expanding to include the maritime industry.
Currently, it serves manufacturing facilities, contractors and the wine and agricultural industry, providing safety and health training courses based on the most current OSHA regulations and information.
“We have been working with the Maritime Academy in Vallejo to create a program,” said John Messing, manager of the OSHA training center. “This would be a key strategic move for us.”
As manager, Mr. Messing is responsible for reaching out to the Northern California community.
“We are the only facility where people can get trained in OSHA standards in the area,” he said.
In the state of Nevada OSHA certification has recently become mandatory, and there is talk that this could happen in California as well.
“Regardless, a lot of companies embrace the training to be proactive,” said Mr. Messing.
The training center offers a curriculum for both construction and general industries, including training tools for safety professionals, trainer preparation courses and customized on-site training.
In addition to Northern California, the center serves Hawaii, Arizona and Guam. It has hazard-based training classes and standards-based classes.
The center also specializes in trainer trainings, where one employee can get the training required to certify other employees for safety training required for their industry.
The Cal/OSHA program is responsible for enforcing California laws and regulations pertaining to workplace safety and health and for providing assistance to employers and workers in regards to workplace safety and health issues, according to the OSHA Web site.
The State of California, under an agreement with OSHA, operates an occupational safety and health program in accordance with Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Initial approval of the California State Plan was published in 1973, and certification for completing all developmental steps was received in 1977.
