| Abstract |
Control banding (CB) is a control-focused risk management model that has received international attention. Control banding is designed to control workplace chemical exposures after the completion of a semi-quantitative risk assessment. Connecticut was one of the first states to provide training on how to use this control focused tool. Joint labor/management teams and individuals attended a series of three control banding workshops and learned how to use the United Kingdom ( UK) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Essentials Toolkit, a control banding model. After the initial training program the investigators used follow-up workshops, questionnaires, site visit data and case studies to evaluate the training curriculum and assess the utility and effectiveness of the CB strategy. Sixty-eight (68) participants, including managers (40%), workers (29%), consultants (22%), and planning committee members (9%) attended Workshop I. The participants came from 34 worksites. Fourteen of these worksites sent teams and 20 sent individuals. Thirty-six workers, managers and planning committee members attended Workshop II and seventy-nine health and safety professionals, managers, workers and planning committee members attended Workshop III. Thirty-one (45%) of the participants who had attended Workshop I returned for the second workshop. Twenty four (35%) of the participants who had attended Workshop I returned for the third workshop. We found that the COSHH Essentials CB model can be easily learned, although some areas for improvement were identified. After attending Workshop I participants from ten of the workplaces returned to work and used COSHH Essentials to evaluate at least one task. Based on a follow-up survey with these workplaces the investigators concluded that the training curriculum was effective the worksites had used the model correctly. The agreement between the CB exposure variables coded by these workplaces and the independent expert, a certified industrial hygienist (CIH), was highly concordant. The model promoted a discussion of risk between workers and managers and resulted in implementation of improvements in the work environment. The model agreed with an independent CIH qualitative risk assessment 75% of the time, and likely over-controlled for 60% (3/5) of the cases of non-agreement. |
