Industry groups move to appeal ANSI ergonomic standard
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has joined with five other construction trade organizations, including the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the American Subcontractors Association (ASA), to appeal the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) July 23 approval of a controversial new ergonomic standard.

Headed by ABC, the Construction Industry Employer Coalition has filed a formal notice appealing the ANSI A10.40 Reduction of Musculoskeletal Problems in Construction standard. ANSI has granted the coalition’s request for a 90-day extension—until November 9, 2007—to prepare the appeal.

The standard was adopted earlier this year by the ANSI A10 Committee for Construction and Demolition Operations, which is responsible for recommending construction industry standards for approval by ANSI. Under the standard, employers would be required to assess the ergonomic risks of worksite tasks, identify and implement solutions for those with significant risks, and maintain specially trained ergonomic safety experts at each worksite.

The coalition believes that the standard should be rejected or returned to the standards developer because a true consensus was not reached; the committee did not follow ANSI procedural rules; there is no scientific evidence to support the need for an ergonomic standard; there is no scientific evidence that demonstrates the proposed standard would prevent musculoskeletal disorder injuries; and that implementation and compliance with the standard is not possible or feasible.

Earlier this year, ABC Director of Safety Chris Williams testified against the ergonomic standard during an ANSI accredited standards committee hearing, questioning the science involved in the development of the standard and highlighting the virtual impossibility of applying the standard to construction industry workplaces, where conditions rarely remain constant.

“The committee appears to presume that a remedial action can be fashioned that will prevent the occurrence of specific types or categories of injury each and every time a worker engages in that work activity,” said Williams. “Unfortunately, such constants do not exist in construction. Virtually every worksite is different. Factors such as project design and dimensions, materials, locations and terrain, and climate are continuously changing from jobsite to jobsite.

“The standard that has been proposed ignores all of these factors and proceeds as though the construction workplace is the same as any other and that a remedial standard can be fashioned without regard to the paucity of the supporting science and data, or the impracticality of the standard to solve the problems to which the standard is directed,” Williams said.

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Nonresidential construction shows no letup
"Nonresidential construction shrugged off the turmoil in homebuilding and credit markets in July to post another solid gain," reports Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), commenting on the September 4 construction spending report from the U. S. Census Bureau.

"Although total construction spending slipped 0.4 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, and residential fell 1.4 percent, nonresidential spending climbed 0.6 percent, the 10th consecutive monthly gain," Simonson says. "For the first seven months of 2007 combined, total construction was down 3.4 percent and residential plummeted 18 percent compared to the same period in 2006. Those figures obscure the 15 percent jump in nonresidential spending.

"Private nonresidential construction--the type that might seem most vulnerable to a credit pullback--showed no sign of contagion, rising 0.4 percent in July and 17 percent year-to-date," Simonson says. "The three most speculative components--commercial, office and lodging--all advanced. Commercial construction was up 0.6 percent for the month and 15 percent year-to-date.

The two biggest commercial subcomponents--multi-retail ('big box' and other general merchandise stores, shopping centers and malls) and warehouses--both leaped 4 percent in July and 28 percent year-to-date. Private office construction climbed 0.6 percent and 22 percent, and lodging shot up 0.8 percent and 60 percent.

"Other strong gainers included power, up 0.5 percent and 19 percent, and private health care (principally hospitals), up 1.3 percent and 13 percent," says Simonson. "I anticipate these categories will remain vigorous, but I expect credit-sensitive types of construction, such as office, warehouse, retail and lodging to slow soon.

"Public construction was up 0.7 percent in July and 11 percent year-to-date," Simonson says. "The biggest component, education, rose 1.9 percent and 12 percent. But highway and street construction, which received a big boost in late 2005 and early 2006, was down 0.8 percent for the month and was only 5 percent higher year-to-date. Partly, that reflects lower prices for diesel and asphalt, but it also shows states are running short of highway funds as gas tax receipts slow. Highway spending could drop sharply late next year," Simonson warns. "Last week, the Congressional Budget Office projected a $5 billion deficit in the federal Highway Trust Fund's Highway Account in fiscal year 2009, which begins in just 13 months. Congress will need to bridge that gap in order to keep road spending from plunging."

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