R. Ronald Sokol, a 29-year member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, has been appointed to the OSHA Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH), which is charged with advising the agency on setting construction standards and policy matters affecting federally financed or assisted construction.

Sokol, CSP, has served as president and CEO of Texas-based Safety Council of Texas City (SCTC) since 1990, a nonprofit corporation which specializes in training contractors who work in the petrochemical industry on safety, health, environmental and security issues. SCTC’s success sparked other safety organizations to form, creating a network that has trained approximately 300,000 per year. He previously served on the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) as a member of the Construction Sector.

“Safety professionals are problem solvers at their core. Having an opportunity to assist OSHA in creating safety and health solutions that protect the working men and women in the construction industry is what I signed up over 37 years ago,” said Sokol about joining ACCSH. “My passion for accomplishing this goal drives me to ensure this dialogue of worker safety and health never gets lost in the American construction industry.”

ACCSH members are appointed by OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels, who appoints five to represent employers, five to represent employees, two to represent State safety and health agencies, two to represent the public, and one member to be designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The committee meets two to six times per calendar year for one or two days per meeting.

“Being appointed to ACCSH as the Public Representative is the highlight of my professional career,” Sokol said. “I reflect on the life of my grandfather who emigrated from Poland and worked as a miner in Western Pennsylvania under brutal working conditions. He suffered a broken neck in an accident. I think about the unimaginable burden it placed on his family before worker compensation insurance was available. Knowing that I can have a part in creating a safer construction industry for working men and women in our nation will be an opportunity I will always treasure.”