UW-Whitewater offers solutions to high work injury and illness rates
Released: March 20, 2003
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater stands as a unique resource in the state for helping employers develop a safer work environment. This may prove especially useful in light of the more aggressive enforcement of federal policy recently announced by the Secretary of Labor. Over 1,000 employers across Wisconsin (out of 14,200 nationally) received a letter from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) informing them that their workplace has one of the highest work injury and illness rates in the nation. This year the list included the construction industry for the first time.
“We recognize that employers who received the OSHA letter will not be happy and will be looking for some solutions, and UW-Whitewater may be able to provide some assistance,” said Andrew Kapp, professor in the Occupational and Environmental Safety & Health Department.
UW-Whitewater offers:
--the only bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety in the state
--a graduate degree program offered at convenient times for the working professional
--continuing and non-credit educational programs tailored to fit industry needs
--partnership projects involving student work teams and local companies
--semester-long student internship and co-op opportunities
A construction safety emphasis program was implemented in fall 2002 in response to the industry’s need for more qualified construction safety professionals. Kapp and other department safety staff work with an advisory board consisting of representatives from organized labor, the construction industry and government regulatory agencies.
- Jane Provorse,provorsj@uww.edu
