MCAA is Co-Sponsor of NIOSH's Masonry Best Practices Meeting in Cincinnati, OH

The audience consisted of union and non-union contractors, masons, laborers, foremen, safety directors and other industry personnel. The first morning was full of presentations from industry experts outlining the need for interventions that will prevent ergonomic injuries to masons. There was an overview of the different musculoskeletal injuries, an ergonomic masonry job hazard analysis, a historical perspective on bricklaying systems, an overview of currently available intervention technologies, and European "best practices".

After lunch and continuing over to the following morning, we were all in breakout sessions discussing the various roles of bricklayers and tenders and current intervention techniques that are available. I think that NIOSH was pleasantly surprised that the masonry industry is already using many intervention techniques to prevent our workers from getting hurt. Many of the ideas that were discussed are currently utilized. Overall, there was some great networking and discussions held that should position MCAA at the center of this issue if ever OSHA decides to take it national. If you have any questions, contact Rashod R. Johnson, MCAA's Director of Engineering at rjohnson@masoncontractors.org.