NFC Goes to Washington, Talks Framing Safety with OSHA & CBG

The Steering Committee of the National Framers Council (NFC) was in Washington, DC, last week promoting the organization’s mission to develop and implement best practices to help ensure framers leave the jobsite each day in the same health as they arrived.  The group first met with CBG Building Company, a professional construction team of Clark Builders Group, one of the top five multi-family builders in the country. The next day, they met with members of OSHA’s Directorate of Construction.

“Our goal was to share NFC’s efforts to create a community of like-minded framers, GCs, suppliers and design professionals,” said George Hull, owner of Hull Associates in Grand Prairie, Texas. “Our industry will be stronger if we’re all working together in the same direction to address the challenges facing framers today.”

In addition to addressing the NFC’s overall goals, Kenny Shifflet, owner of Ace Carpentry in Manassass, Virginia, provided a detailed overview of the FrameSAFE program, from its origins to its current edition.  “We had an opportunity to walk them through everything from the orientation checklist and our safety manual template, to our toolbox talks and on-the-job training approach,” said Shifflet. “Our focus on creating a standardized safety program provides professional framers and skilled subcontractors a consistent approach to implementing an effective safety program.”

In meeting with OSHA, the group pointed out that NFC’s standardized safety approach is intended to provide each professional framer and skilled subcontractor all the safety elements and tools that are necessary to be successful on the jobsite.

“Both of our meetings went very well,” said Scott Stevens, owner of ModuTech in Baltimore, Maryland. “CBG and OSHA were pleased with the information we provided; they liked our approach.”  Both organizations pledged to review FrameSAFE in greater depth and provide feedback and everyone looks forward to further collaboration.

It’s a positive step toward realizing NFC’s motto: Work safely. Go home safely.