The USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center welcomes you to attend a free information session regarding OSHA’s revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) and its impact on your workplace. Our guest presenter, Joan M. Spencer, is a Compliance Assistance Specialist at the Tampa OSHA Area Office. Managers and supervisors of businesses that regularly handle, store and use hazardous chemicals are urged to attend. Topics to be covered include: Major changes to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard Specific criteria for health and physical hazard classification Standard adoption and employee training deadlines Label information [...]

On Friday, July 6, 2012 11 unemployed or under-employed Miami-area residents graduated from the sixth and final phase of the USF OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center’s partnership with the City of Miami’s Brownfield Job Training Program. The program provided environmental-, industrial- and commercial industry-related training and certification free of charge to enrolled Miami-area residents in an effort to provide them an opportunity to obtain skills, increase employability, and enter the green job workforce. The creation of the program was made possible by a federal Brownfield Job Training grant awarded [...]

       Two nationally-recognized programs within the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health are teaming up once again to provide relevant training programs during the 67th Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference and 24th Annual Safety and Health Conference. The event takes place on August 19-23, 2012, at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Fla. Event coordinators expect the conference to draw more than 350 exhibitors and speakers, and approximately 7,000 attendees including risk managers, regulators, safety professionals, health care providers, adjusters, insurance professionals, attorneys, medical case managers, professional [...]

Beginning Oct. 1, 2012, any individual who wishes to take the OSHA 5400 Train-the-Trainer for the Maritime Industry must first complete OSHA 5410 Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Maritime Industry. Also beginning October 1, students who wish to take the OSHA 5400 must demonstrate three years maritime industry experience (this is an increase in maritime experience from two years to three years) in addition to previously enforced requirements below. The complete list of prerequisites for OSHA 5400, effective October 1, is as follows: 1. Three years maritime industry [...]

Beginning Oct. 1, 2012, the USF OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center and all other OTI Education Centers will no longer offer the OSHA 510 and OSHA 511 courses online due to revised OSHA requirements. The USF OTI Education Center will continue to offer both courses in live classroom settings.  Students who wish to take either course online are encouraged to register for the course before September 30.  Please direct any questions to usfoticenter@health.usf.edu or call (813) 994-1195.

The USF OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center maintained its position at number three among all OTI Education Centers in the nation. It also preserved its number one spot in OSHA Region IV, which includes five OTI Education Centers across the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. “I attribute the success of our center to the quality of our courses, which is directly impacted by our knowledgeable instructional and office staff,” said USF OTI Education Center Program Manager Robert Nesbit. The OSHA Office of [...]

This month, the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center unveiled a new 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) course tailored for the military and other government employees at the US Army Reserves facilities at 9500 Armed Forces Reserves Drive in Orlando, Fla. The course, which lasted May 14-18, trained attendees on the revised OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) that was announced in March, making this the USF OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center’s first course offering to do so. Employers are not required to have trained employees on [...]

  Photo credit: David Schenk Caption: Luis Pieretti, Ph.D, delivers a presentation about formaldehyde exposures and hair salons at OSHA’s On-site Consultation Training Conference. Pieretti is an industrial hygienist with USF SafetyFlorida, OSHA’s small business on-site consultation program. Charlene Sitterly, program manager, and other USF SafetyFlorida staff members attended OSHA’s On-site Consultation Training Conference that was held in Nashville, April 24-26. Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels was keynote speaker. Luis Pieretti, Ph.D, an industrial hygienist with USF SafetyFlorida, delivered a presentation at the conference about formaldehyde [...]

Don’t gamble on mine safety and health! Stop by the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center’s booth at the 2012 Florida Mine Safety and Health Conference to learn more about our classes, certificate program, and other services we can offer your organization. Also, don’t miss USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program Safety and Health Consultant Pat Stark’s breakout session on Feb. 28. He will highlight characteristics of an effective safety and health management system as well as the latest OSHA standards and regulations. The conference will take place Feb. 27 – Mar. [...]

  A USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center instructor attained Certified Utilities Safety Professionals (CUSP) designation in Safety Management in early October. Scott Young, a USF OTI Education Center instructor of five years, demonstrated sufficient knowledge in safety standards, hazard identification, incident prevention, leadership skills, human performance, and operations to earn his designation. Young passed the CUSP Green exam during the 2011 International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition in Louisville, Ky. October 4-6. Young has acquired over 27 years of utility industry experience with specialization in substation operations, maintenance, and [...]