With cooperative funding from both Electri International and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration (OSHA) this „pilot‟ project has successfully developed and delivered bilingual training on procedures to identify, avoid and mitigate safety hazards during post-disaster reconstruction to 400 electrical and non-electrical contractors in five Gulf states most vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. Special emphasis was placed on electrical hazards and the development of both English and Spanish training materials. The training materials were developed in a „train-the-trainer‟ format for supervisors and jobsite superintendents to modify and use on a recurring basis with their field workers.

The content of the training materials focused on those areas found to be the leading causes of injury and death during post disaster recovery and reconstruction including general health and safety, physical ‘focus four’ hazards (e.g. electrocution, fall, struck-by, etc.), chemical and biological hazards (e.g. contaminated flood water), and, equipment hazards (aerial lifts, ladders, electric equipment, generators, etc.). The half day ‘free’ training was delivered in person to 13 sites in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia from May-September 2008 (Fig 1). Pre- and post- training surveys were administered to evaluate the effectiveness of the training, and, to survey participant demographics, safety attitudes and safety work practices.

The purpose of this project was to facilitate greater awareness of both electrical and non-electrical safety hazards likely to be encountered during post disaster (e.g. hurricane, tornado, flood, etc.) recovery and reconstruction, and, provide actionable guidance on methods to safely identify, avoid and mitigate such hazards.

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