Collectively, ECRI Institute, Chesapeake Region Safety Council (CRSC), the Mid-Atlantic Construction Safety Council (MACSC), and the Johns Hopkins University and Health System (JHUHS) have a long, successful track record in providing training and education to thousands of adults, whose place of employment is regulated by OSHA’s general industry and construction industry standards. Whether through classroom-style training sessions and hands-on workshops, written and online publications, audio- or web-conferences, and / or via self-paced learning on  CD-ROM/DVD or online tutorial, the information presented is based on   evidence-based, authoritative occupational and environmental safety and health sources, that embody the principles of  effective  hazard assessment, OSHA compliance, and good sound safety management.

ECRI Institute, Plymouth Meeting, PA (http://www.ecri.org). ECRI Institute is a 40-year-old, independent, nonprofit health services research institute engaged in healthcare occupational and environmental health and safety management, healthcare risk management, and healthcare technology assessment. ECRI Institute sponsors the Center for Healthcare Environmental Management (CHEM) and Center for Education and Training (CET), which are dedicated to providing education and training and authoritative guidance documents on important environmental and occupational safety and health and risk management topics, particularly as applies to the healthcare industry. Much of CHEM and CET’s publications and training offerings focus on compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s general and construction industry standards, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards, among others. CHEM and CET also incorporate the consensus standards as developed by American National Standards Institute and/or the National Fire Protection Association, the Compressed Gas Association, the International Safety Equipment Association, the American Society of Safety Engineers, and the American Industrial Hygiene Association, among others.

ECRI Institute is a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization (WHO) in three areas (including Healthcare Risk Management), and has been designated an Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) by the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

ECRI Institute is staffed by industrial hygienists, safety professionals, engineers, lawyers, scientists, nurses, and doctors dedicated to its mission to provide cost-effective, unbiased, evidence-based information, education, and training. These professionals collectively produce more than 30 educational publications, and provide information services, educational, training, and train-the-trainer programs, information databases, and technical assistance to public and private industry, government and planning agencies, ministries of health, voluntary sector organizations, and associations and accrediting agencies worldwide. While ECRI Institute’s headquarters is located in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (just outside Philadelphia), it maintains foreign offices in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.

ECRI Institute has been providing occupational, environmental health, safety, and security education and training to the international healthcare community for over 18 years. ECRI Institute’s Center for Healthcare Environmental Management (CHEM) has trained approximately 1700 professionals as Healthcare Environmental Managers (HEMs) since 1993. The weeklong training course covers over 50 safety and security topics including basic industrial hygiene and toxicology, hazard assessment, the selection of personal and respiratory protective equipment, emergency management, bloodborne pathogens, lockout/tagout, permit-required confined spaces, machine guarding, fall protection, and occupational noise. Each weeklong Healthcare Environmental Manager (HEM) course has been approved for four and one-half (4.5) certificate maintenance points (CMPs) by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) since 1998. (Click here for more information about a CHEM Course.) ECRI Institute has also been providing training and education on accident investigation, root cause analysis, and process hazard analysis. Additional information on ECRI Institute and its sponsored Centers is available at http://www.ecri.org/.

Chesapeake Regional Safety Council, Baltimore, MD, (http://www.chesapeakesc.org). The Chesapeake Region Safety Council (CRSC) is a private, non-profit, non-governmental public service organization whose mission is to provide the safety training and education that will reduce disabling injuries and save lives. With over 800 members, CRSC serves businesses and citizens in Maryland, Delaware, and the Greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, and is a chapter of the National Safety Council. The Chesapeake Region Safety Council (CRSC) trains more than 15,000 adults annually, offering a full spectrum of compliance courses in both OSHA’s general industry and construction standards. Their programs are designed to meet the needs of human resources personnel, safety managers, loss control managers, safety coordinators, safety team members, and entry-level or part-time safety practitioners. Each program is structured and presented to ensure that relevant OSHA standards are amply covered.  Basic safety terms and concepts are presented to ensure that the principles of the respective standard are understood. The materials are developed to improve hazard assessment and mitigation, as well as foster discussions and interaction, which further reinforces the training experience, improves understanding, and enables attendees to assess their current level of compliance, identify gaps, and create and implement an action plan to fill them. CRSC’s training offerings for compliance with OSHA’s general and construction industry standards include permit-required confined spaces, electrical safety, exit routes, emergency action & fire prevention planning, hazard communications, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, personal protective equipment, respiratory protection, fall arrest/fall hazard assessment, excavation, occupational noise, and OSHA Recordkeeping. CRSC also offers OSHA 500, 501, 502, 503, 510 and 511 several times annually, as well as many of the other courses offered by OSHA Training Institute Education Centers. Additional information on CRSC is available at http://www.chesapeakesc.org/.

Mid-Atlantic Construction Safety Council (MACSC), Philadelphia, PA (http://www.macsc.org/). The Mid-Atlantic Construction Safety Council (MACSC), headquartered in center city Philadelphia, PA, is a group of like-minded construction safety professionals representing construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, insurance companies, insurance brokers, health care, union representatives, consultants, construction association representatives in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.  MACSC is dedicated to the protection of life and property in the construction industry. MACSC’s efforts are directed towards, but not limited to, sharing safety information for mutual benefit; fostering safety awareness; standardizing safety practices; encouraging cooperation and open communications; providing a resource of knowledge, experience, and information; and assisting contractors with implementing and maintaining safe work practices.  MACSC’s strength as an organization rests on the commitment of its members who attend meetings regularly and participate in the life of the council by serving on committees and attending events. Members discuss worksite safety issues and safety events, with the primary goal to further construction safety in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

MACSC’s governing body is its Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee is responsible for the management of the council, and takes great interest in ensuring the occupational safety of its members. The Executive Committee reviews and discusses reports of OSHA activity and safety incidents at MACSC monthly lunch meetings, for the purpose of preventing similar incidents. While MACSC has developed successful relationships with contractor organizations such as the American Subcontractors Association of Delaware Valley and the Interior Finish Contractors Association to provide safety training for the subcontracting community, MACSC seeks to extend its safety training to other groups such as the Architectural Glass and Metal Association, Mechanical Contractors Association, National Electrical Contractors Association, and Sheet Metal Contractors Association. The Safety Coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #98 is one of MACSC’s prominent members. Currently, MACSC conducts 30-Hour OSHA Training twice a year, as well as special training events such as Infection Control Risk Assessment with ECRI Institute and Advanced Fall Protection training with Mine Safety Appliances Company. Additional information on CRSC is available at http://www.macsc.org/.

Johns Hopkins University and Health System, Baltimore, MD (http://www.jhu.edu; http://www.hopkinshospital.org). Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System is one of the United States of America's preeminent institutions of higher learning and healthcare. Committed to excellence, Johns Hopkins University and Health System provides the highest quality in life-long education and in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Additional Information on Johns Hopkins University is available at http://www.jhu.edu. Additional information on the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System is available at http://www.hopkinshospital.org.