By Jeff Murphy,
October 30, 2020
WARRENSBURG, MO 鈥 A 欧美视频 professor was recently awarded
an $80,000 grant from the United States Department of Labor (DOL). For the second
consecutive time, the PI/Project Director, Dr. Miaozong Wu, CSP, ARM, program coordinator
of the Master of Science in Occupational Safety Management and associate professor
of Safety Sciences at UCM, is receiving grant supports from the DOL for a new project
that will focus on electric arc safety in high-hazard industries. UCM is the only
institution in Missouri to receive funds through the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration鈥檚 (OSHA) Susan Harwood Training Grant program.
The grant will enable Wu and his team to develop new knowledge and electric arc safety
training materials for employers and workers in high-risk industries, including construction
and manufacturing, and those young, temporary, hard-to-reach workers from small businesses
such as real estate, rental, and leasing industries. The project will provide training
opportunities and resources related to electric arc safety to workers at risk of exposure
to electric arc at their workplaces. Wu said the efforts are to prevent the occurrences
of catastrophic incidents, protect workers from electric arc and related burn injuries,
and prevent business losses.
Wu will have industry collaboration with electric arc safety experts on this project.
Mikhail Golovkov (), a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE),
active member in Committee F18 American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), and
a former member of the Technical Committee 78 (TC78) of the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC), has contributed to the development of live working and safety standards.
Gavin Burdge, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP, CIH), has over 30 years of experience
in electrical safety, including working under contract with the Department of Defense
Electrical Safety Working Group.
The team has worked together during the past fiscal year and successfully completed
the previous OSHA Susan Harwood grant focusing on electrical safety in the wind energy industry. They have developed four-hour training materials including three topics 鈥淓lectric
hazards in wind industry: electric shock and electric arc,鈥 鈥淧rotection against electric
hazards: protective materials and PPE properties,鈥 and 鈥淪afe energized electrical
work standardization: normative regulations and other consensus standards.鈥 These
new training materials will be and will be made available to the public. Using the newly developed materials, the
team successfully conducted a pilot training in July 2020 to workers from a Texas-based
wind energy company.
Sarah Craig, director of Sponsored Programs and Research Integrity at UCM, congratulated
Wu and his team for another federal grant, noting, 鈥淭he team has demonstrated its
capacity to build strong partnerships with industry and field experts. Being able
to provide state-of-the-art educational materials and training opportunities to workforces
is critical to improve workplace safety and promote the business growth.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to see the 欧美视频 looking at new ways they can
expand their capacity to help people get the skills they need for in-demand, good-paying
jobs,鈥 said U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee
that funds Department of Labor programs. 鈥淚 hope the pilot program will successfully
lay the groundwork for more workers and students to be able to take part in critical
safety training.鈥
Individuals who are interested in learning more about this project, including how
to participate in training opportunities, are encouraged to contact Dr. Miaozong Wu
at miawu@ucmo.edu.