Discussion Topic #2

Concept and brief description:

The OSH Act has been a very important and monumental act that has created a safer atmosphere in the work area. When it comes to construction sites and building sites where there is lots of manual labor going on, then this act has changed the way they do business. Before the act the workers were in harm’s way and they had many accidents where their life was threatened and some even died. Now the employers are responsible for what happens to their employees. If they don’t take into consideration the many safety practices that are now required by OSHA they will be penalized very heavily for the violations they make in their safety on the job site.

Emotional hook (provocative question/ claim/real-life problem):

I have personally worked on a construction crew many times where I felt my life was in my hands and if I made one mistake that I could have fallen off a building and hurt myself very badly. For those reasons, they make a safety harness for people who are high up on buildings. They are anchored down to a sturdy area of the building and they are able to move around in places they usually couldn’t without the harness and anchors. I was a roofer working on really tall buildings and homes with really steep roofs. That is why I needed the harness.

Key points to elicit in discussion :

Before OSHA, employers demanded a lot of risk taking by their employees because they were dispensable. Now if their employees get hurt then they are responsible for them and have to take care of them and pay for their injuries. That has a bad reputation on the builder, so he wants to be safe and not get any violations from OSHA because they are very expensive and they also slow down production.

Facilitative questions:

What if you were working somewhere and you felt that your safety was at risk? Wouldn’t you want to be safe and take certain precautions so you don’t get in an accident?