PACNY's 26th Annual Environmental Conference - On the Second Day Size Does Matter and NYSDOL's Response to Questions Upsets the Room! - Part Two

The second day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 26th Annual Environmental Conference continued at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York with two presenters, the New York State Department of Labor Question and Answer (Q&A) Session, and the vendors in the Mohawk Room.

Mr. Craig Kaputa, the President of PACNY "State of the Union"

Two changes to the typical program were the moving of the keynote speaker to Friday (usually on Thursday) just before the NYSDOL Q&A session.  The other change was a PACNY State of the Union presentation by Craig Kaputa, the President of PACNY.  Both of these changes provided the participants with reasons to wake up early on Friday and hence many participants attended the two sessions where previously many participants slept in until the NYSDOL Q&A session.  

President's Award winner Mr. Russell Vent

Mr. Kaputa's presentation included the awarding of the President's Award to Russell Vent and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Kevin Cannan, of ACC Contracting.  Both are hard-working individuals that have done a lot to help PACNY currently and historically! 

Lifetime Achievement Award to Kevin Cannan

The keynote speaker was Lee Poye, Vice President Emeritus Eurofins Built Environment, discussing "Asbestos in Human Tissue and the Environment - Does Size Matter?"  His presentation provided plenty of evidence for using an air sampling method (Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)) that would analyze fibers that are less than and equal to 5 microns in length, less than and equal to 0.25 microns in diameter, and aspect ratios less than or equal to 35:1.  Much of his presentation discussed what type of asbestos fibers were found in diseased human lung tissue.  The conclusion of Mr. Poye's presentation is that size does matter.

Lee Poye - Size Does Matter

After the last break with the Vendors in the Mohawk Room.  The conference continued with a pared-down New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Panel.  The attendees included Matthew Robinson-Loffler, the Deputy Director of NYSDOL, Kirk Fisher, Asbestos Control Bureau, and Edward Smith, PE Engineering Services Unit.  Mr. Robinson-Loffler informed everyone that soon individuals will be able to apply for their mold and asbestos certificates and licenses online.  In fact, at the writing of this blog post, this service is now available for mold licenses and certificates at https://dol.ny.gov/mpwr.  To read more about it: click here.  

Mr. Robinson-Loffler discussing online licenses & certifications

However, the biggest shock was the response to two questions one regarding soft/controlled demolition and the other regarding contamination assessments/incidental disturbances.  The first question was if there are building materials that don't contain asbestos that can be demoed with non-asbestos contractors.  This demo would not disturb the asbestos-containing materials behind these building materials.  The answer was that demo cannot be done until all asbestos-containing materials are removed.  The second question was based on an asbestos inspector and contractor being issued a violation for not including the surfaces to be cleaned as part of the quantities to be notified.  The response was that the area to be cleaned is the notifiable quantity, not the incidental disturbance quantity.  This seemed to get the whole room agitated and proceeded to involve several more questions on this topic.  Mr. Kirk Fisher attempted to answer these questions but his answers only seemed to make matters worse.  It is interesting that this last issue was covered by Mr. James Meachum, PE, the former NYSDOL Asbestos Control Bureau head, Angelo Garcia, III, of Future Environment Designs (FEDTC), and Mr. Bart Gallagher, of Enviroscience Consultants, Inc. on the proficiency day of PACNY's 24th Annual Environmental Conference in March 2020.  

Dan Crothers, AirBox, Veronica & Angelo Garcia, III, Matthew Desch, & Sheryl Esposito (FEDTC team)

As usual, the conference ended with a networking lunch. where we got to sit with our colleagues and discuss what has gone on over the last few days.  It's interesting to see the changing of the guard to a younger generation and we wish them luck and good fortune moving forward.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone next year!

PACNY's 26th Annual Environmental Conference - NYSDOL Entertains on the First Day and Then Drops a Bombshell on Second Day! - Part One.

Future Environment Designs Training Center (FEDTC) was a Sapphire Sponsor for the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 26th Annual Environmental Conference held at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.  The two-day event featured several presentations that were noteworthy and a presentation by Mr. David Ramos, Safety & Health Inspector from the NYS Department of Labor (NYSDOL), called "Common ICR 56 Violations" had the audience in stitches.  

Our booth in the Vendor Exhibit Hall

This year PACNY tried a new format for the morning & early afternoon sessions on the first day Thursday, March 16, 2023.  Side-by-side presentations (or two tracks though it was hard to discern if each track had a theme).  Because of some issues with Turning Stone the Onondaga Room was smaller than it was supposed to be.  The two-track presentations did require us to go back and forth between the two rooms to gauge the presentations for those following us on Twitter (#FEDTCPACNY).  It was interesting that the smaller Onondaga Room worked out for the presenters in that room since it seemed a smaller number of attendees still made the room seem fuller.  In the morning session, the presentation by Mr. Peter DeLucia, Director of Safety of the Riedman Companies and President of the Environmental Information Association (EIA)  "Exposure Assessments: The First Step In Compliance" had us again utterly confused with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) position on respirator use for asbestos.  Based on his presentation and reference material he presented OSHA does not recognize hoods or helmets even when their protection factor exceeds the required protection factor for the exposure assessment or monitoring.  This would imply then that individuals who cannot shave for whatever reason could not work in the asbestos industry.  Sounds like another blog post for the future.  Mr.Chris Alonge, Senior Engineer for the Dormitory Authority for the State of New York (DASNY), presented on "Managing Typical Regulated and Hazardous Wastes Generated on Abatement/Remediation Projects in NYS" a timely presentation considering all the talk lately about Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in asbestos materials, like mastic and caulk, and how to handle universal wastes.  In the early afternoon sessions Lisa Rogers, President of Mycometer, presented "One Data Point Isn't Enough! The Fungal to Allergan Index, A New Diagnostic Concept" which discussed how air sampling using the Mycometer could assist in diagnosing mold issues strongly recommend those in the indoor air quality/mold industry look into this, and Brent Kynoch, Managing Director, EIA presented on "Environmental Trends Throughout the US" discussing the potential federal asbestos ban and different state regulations for environmental (lead, etc.) and mold regulations. 

Mr. Peter DeLucia, Director of Safety of the Riedman Companies and President of the Environmental Information Association (EIA)  "Exposure Assessments: The First Step In Compliance"

Other presenters and their topics included:

• Ms. Donalea Maloney, OSHA Compliance Assistant Specialist - "All About OSHA, OSHA Update, and A Heat Stress Enforcement Case." 
• Ms. Michelle McGowan, EMSL's VP Asbestos Division - "Bridging the Gap Between Field Sampling & Laboratory Analysis
• Ms. Maddie Davis & Lauren Battagllia, Livingston Associates - "Engage to Retain: How Fostering Employee Engagement Can Help Reduce Turnover"
• Alex Dell, Esq., Law Firm of Alex Dell, PLLC - "What Your Injured Employee Thinks Of You, Navigating the NYS Workers' Compensation Law and Related Benefits".  Saw his presentation at the North Country Chamber of Commerce's 2022 Business Expo and it provided good information and was very interesting.  A side note - Save the Date for the North Country Chamber of Commerce 2023 Business Expo & Conference is on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at SUNY Plattsburgh Angell Center.
• Michael A. Pinto, CEO, Wonder Makers Environmental - "The Ins and Outs of the EIA's Mold Guide"
• OneGroup - Brett Findlay, John Schmidtt, Michelle Namisniak, & Paul Coderre - "Where to Focus Your Efforts in Controlling Insurance Costs"
• Nicole Henry - Business Development Representative, CompanyCam - "A Better Way to Survey; Gathering and Sharing Data More Effectively"
• Jacob Hutton, Architectural Designer, CPL & Kevin Hutton, President & CEO, East Centers of NY - "Blueprint Reading 101: For Environmental Projects"

Ms. Michelle McGowan, EMSL's VP Asbestos Division - "Bridging the Gap Between Field Sampling & Laboratory Analysis

For the remainder of the afternoon, it returned to a one-track format finishing with Stefan A. Borovina, Esq., from Goldberg Segalla, presenting "How to Avoid OSHA Citations and Create a Safer Worksite".  Being prepared was a big part of his presentation on how to avoid OSHA citations including preparing your employees to be interviewed by OSHA.  

David Ramos, Safety & Health Inspector from the NYS Department of Labor (NYSDOL), called "Common ICR 56 Violations"

Mr. David Ramos' presentation "Common ICR 56 Violations".  Mr. Ramos' presentation showed us what some contractors and consultants try to get away with during asbestos abatement projects.  Some of the violations were so bad they were very funny.  That presentation put everyone in a good mood for the Happy Hour in the Mohawk Room - Presented by Aramsco.  Stay tuned for the second day!  

Future Environment Designs Training Center Opens a Satellite Office in Rochester.

Future Environment Designs, Inc. (FEDTC) is happy to announce the opening of our satellite office in Rochester, New York.  This new location will be offering FEDTC's training courses that have an average Coursecheck rating of 4.8 out of 5 from over 1,800 reviewers.  Our satellite office will be working out of the Diversified Environmental Training location at 1700 Hudson Avenue, Suite B, Rochester, New York 14617.  This facility will be used for training only.  All recordkeeping will remain at our Corporate Office in Syosset.  We understand pricing is a little different in this area as compared to our usual training areas.  To help FEDTC get used to the area we will be offering a price match for the courses we offer in Monroe County.  So when registering click on the invoice button and send us a copy of a previous invoice you received from one of the local trainers and we will match it (for your efforts we will discount it 5%).

Training Room at Diversified Environmental Training

We are looking forward to the expansion of our services in Rochester, New York, including our At Your Convenience service.  The At Your Convenience service brings the training and/or respirator fit testing to your location.  All we need are five or more people and we're At Your Convenience!  Tired of traveling through rush hour traffic to get to your training center?  Tired of paying travel expenses for your employees for training?  Tired of the same old non-productive training classes?  Or are you just tired of the same old training?   If you have answered yes to any of the above questions, then you need to give us a call.  We can perform the training in your office. We provide a laptop, a projector, PowerPoint presentations, and a wireless device for internet access. You provide the seating and the blank wall (no blank wall, we’ll provide the screen). We do the rest.  We can do this training for any of the courses and services in our Course Offerings and Training Services Catalog.

At Your Convenience Training

In Rochester, FEDTC will continue to offer our One-Stop Service which allows employers to contact us or register online to:

• Schedule staff development on asbestos, mold, or other safety and health regulations (see our Course Offerings and Training Services Catalog.),
• Schedule respirator medical evaluations to comply with the OSHA respiratory protection standard 1910.134,
• Order the proper respirator and filters for your staff, and
• Schedule quantitative respirator fit testing to comply with the OSHA respiratory protection standard 1910.134, to be performed on the day of the class.

We provide this One-Stop Service making your occupational safety and health requirements simple and easy to complete on the same day as the training.  Contact us here or register online here.

Quantitative Respirator Fit Testing At Your Convenience or One-Stop Service

FEDTC is one of the few training providers that provide the FEDTC Dropbox folder (with hundreds of reference documents regarding indoor air quality, asbestos, lead, mold, etc.), we also provide our students with the negative air app (to help calculate the number of negative air units for a work area), our project monitor and air sampling technician courses include all three asbestos air sampling table (Federal, NYS, and NYC these can be purchased separately here) and for those considering opening your own business our book "Do As I Say, Not As I Did What I've Learned After 30 Years of Being in Business" discusses the four pillars of operating a successful business, you can purchase the book here.  We are thrilled to bring these services to Monroe County and specifically to the Rochester area.  See you in class! 

Counting Down to a Month of Conferences - First it's PACNY's Environmental Conference and Then EIA's!

The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) have announced the dates and schedule for their annual Environmental Conference on March 16th and 17th, 2023.  It will be held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.  To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!  Also, this month is the Environmental Information Association's (EIA's) 2023 National Conference & Exhibition being held from March 25th to March 29th, 2023.  It is being held at Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee.  To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!

PACNY 2022

Both of these conferences provide tons of information that helps keep our classes up-to-date.  We are looking forward to several presentations that should provide information about some current issues such as "Managing Typical Regulated and Hazardous Wastes Generated on Abatement/Remediation Projects in NYS", "Asbestos Building Inspectors - an Open Discussion", "Exposure Assessments", "Asbestos-Myth Busters", and "What Your Injured Employee Think of You, Navigating the NYS Worker's Compensation Law and Related Benefits" just to name a few.

EIA Conference 2022 in Phoenix, AZ

We will have a table at the PACNY conference and we will be tweeting the conference using the hashtag #FEDTCPACNY.  We will be selling our asbestos air sampling tables ($15 per table) and we will be selling and signing our book "Do As I Say, Not As I Did" ($15 per book) at the table.  Come by and say hello!  Sheryl Esposito will be womaning the booth as she has for the past couple of years.  Our co-host for Two Guys Talking Pumps, Dan Crothers, the International Sales Director of FermionX maker of the Airbox Sampling Pump, will also be attending the conference and is also a sponsor.  To know more about the Airbox sampling pumps see our YouTube video "Two Talking Pumps" below or visit him at his booth where he will have the Airbox sampling pump in person!  Looking forward to seeing you there.  

Safety Training That Works: How FED Keeps Its Courses Fresh and Engaging by Natasha Serafimovska

At the beginning of last summer, Safety + Health Magazine released the 2022 Training Survey with some telling results.  Companies are tired of the same old safety training that is stale, repetitive, and ineffective.

When asked about their greatest challenges around worker safety training, companies identified these five common concerns as their biggest pain points:

• Keeping training interesting, relevant, and up-to-date;
• Offering consistent training across the organization;
• Flexible schedule to accommodate various shift structures and work models;
• Getting employees to complete their training and implement what they’ve learned;
• Getting management buy-in about the importance of the training;

As a safety training provider who’s been around for over 30 years, this got us thinking at Future Environment Designs Training Center (FEDTC) about why that is the case.  Why do training providers struggle to keep safety training fresh and engaging at a time when there are so many tools and learning models at our disposal? 

Here, we share how FEDTC keeps our training fresh, engaging, and flexible.  We hope that this will help our current and new customers better assess our course offerings as well as give other training providers some insights into how they can improve their approach so that we can all raise the safety training standards and reduce injuries across the board.

Asbestos Handler 

Keeping Employees Interested and Engaged

Safety training is a regulatory requirement which means that most workers go through the same content each year.  Not only that, but safety content in itself can sometimes be a bit dry as there’s a lot about rules, regulations, and what workers should and shouldn’t do in different scenarios. 

That said, it doesn’t mean that safety training should be boring.  At FEDTC, for instance, we take great care in making our courses as engaging as possible.  At the beginning of the pandemic, we implemented Poll Everywhere, a polling tool that allows students to interact during virtual and in-person classes and helps the trainer check in with students as part of their presentation. 

This breaks up the one-way communication of the training format and gives students the desire to ask questions, comment, and give feedback.  All of this has significantly increased participation, and discussions, and has helped us make our courses much more interesting for our students.

Asbestos Operations & Maintenace

Offering Training That’s Consistent and Tailored to the Organization

If safety training is to work, it needs to be consistently delivered across the organization.  Likewise, the content needs to be adapted to the organization’s specific scenarios for it to resonate with the employees, as not all businesses face the same safety concerns.

At FEDTC, we review our training materials annually to determine if they need to be updated.  We also adjust our classes to meet specific work procedures and practices our clients use, such as working with asbestos cement pipe or asbestos electrical wire insulation.  All of this makes the training relevant and consistent with the working environment in which our clients operate. 

Not only that, but we regularly attend conferences such as Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY), Environmental Information Association (EIA), the American Council for Accreditated Certifications (ACAC), and others to stay abreast of the latest research, regulations, and standards in the industry. 

40-hour HAZWOPER 

Making Training Flexible

A large portion of our courses is available as both an in-person course and a virtual class which students can choose based on their location, work schedule, and availability.  We also run the same courses several times each month so that students have more options to choose from. 

When it comes to online training, we offer courses that are on-demand and students can take whenever they want or virtual instructor-led classes which can enrich the learning experience but do require student participation in a specific time. 

Mold Worker/Remediation/Supervisor/Assessor Course

Driving Course Completion and Compliance

For us, the training doesn’t end in the (virtual) classroom. Instead, we engage with learners post-training via email, text, or phone to answer questions and keep engagement high.  If we go back to the polling tool, we also use polls to keep the communication going in between courses if they take place on different days or months.

When it comes to compliance, we use polls at the beginning of our training sessions to see how much our learners remember from the previous year.  This helps us identify key areas we need to put extra focus on or update the content to make it more memorable and engaging.  This has dramatically improved learners’ knowledge retention and improved the overall outcomes of our training courses. 

At FEDTC, we understand that learners may need several touchpoints with the content in order to learn it. That’s why we try to provide as much and as diverse content as possible through our website, blog, and LinkedIn New York Asbestos Group.  For example, learners (and their employers) can use our Resource Page to get access to a plethora of recordings, papers, and conference presentations which are constantly updated via Dropbox.  We also provide a Negative Air Calculator for learners to get a better understanding of how negative pressure can keep work areas safe and lower contamination levels. 

OSHA 10-hour Construction Safety Course

Showing the Value of Safety Training

Finally, we don’t take things for granted.  We use Coursecheck, an online course feedback tool, to invite students' feedback and use that as a guide for improvement.  So far, we’ve received over 1500 online reviews with an overall 4.8 out of 5-star rating. 

Other than looking at what other people are saying, the best way to demonstrate the value of the training FEDTC provides is to give it a go.  FEDTC offers many short and refresher courses which you can use as a test drive to see if our methods suit your needs.  Once you’ve assessed the outcomes of those courses, we’d be happy to have a wider discussion about how we can deliver holistic safety training that is going to meet the needs of your particular business. 

OSHA 30-hour Construction Safety Course

The Bottom Line

Safety training may not be your favorite pastime activity, but its value in the workplace is indisputable. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that in 2020 there have been 4,764 work-related deaths where construction and transportation fatalities accounted for nearly half of those.  Construction, in fact, is cited as the industry with the highest rate of workplace fatalities in the United States.   

This highlights the importance of delivering quality and engaging workplace safety training.  The onus is both on training providers and employers to collaborate and come up with solutions that are relevant, engaging, and tailored to the circumstances workers face each and every day.

Merry Holidays and a Happy New Year from Future Environment Designs! What Do We Have In Store for the New Year!

A Merry Holidays and a Happy New Year to all of you who journeyed with us this past year.  It has been a see-saw kind of year with some ups and some downs.  As some of you know we were trying to sell the business.  We've decided we are not going to sell the business and instead will ride the business into the sunset (as we prepare and get ready for retirement probably another 10 years).  As we go into our 35th year of being in business we continue to adjust and modify the services we offer to our clients, allowing our clients to utilize our 35 years of experience and Angelo Garcia, III's 40+ years of experience.  

Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Centre

In 2023, we will continue our At Your Convenience service.  The At Your Convenience service brings the training or respirator fit testing to your location.  All we need are five or more people and we're At Your Convenience!  Tired of traveling through rush hour traffic to get to your training center?  Tired of paying travel expenses for your employees for training?  Tired of the same old non-productive training classes?  Or are you just tired of the same old training?   If you have answered yes to any of the above questions, then you need to give us a call.  Future Environment Designs Training Center (FEDTC) (with a Coursecheck rating of 4.8 out of 5) is now providing training At Your Convenience.  We can perform the training in your office. We provide a laptop, a projector, PowerPoint presentations, and a wireless device for internet access. You provide the seating and the blank wall (no blank wall, we’ll provide the screen). We do the rest.  We can do this training for any of the courses and services in our Course Offerings and Training Services Catalog.

The Bergdorf Goodman Windows

In 2023, we will be expanding our collaboration with SiteDocs to help you elevate your safety programs.  Future Environment Designs can work with you to create the various Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-compliant safety and health programs (i.e., hazard communication, respiratory protection, confined space entry, bloodborne pathogen, and construction safety & health programs) that would go into the SiteDocs platform.  We can help you meet the training requirements, develop the data (such as Safety Data Sheets and Chemical Inventories), and create the checklists that would be used by your staff to meet the regulatory requirements.  With the SiteDocs platform that information would be readily available to all your staff.  To learn more about what SiteDocs can do for your safety program, you can book a quick call with Brent Martyniuk here.  To learn how Future Environment Designs can help you with developing your various safety and health programs contact us here.  We believe the SiteDocs platform would greatly impact your business helping you save time and money, and elevate your safety program from being on the shelf to being part of your day-to-day operations.

Saks Fifth Avenue

FEDTC continues to offer our One-Stop Service which allows employers to contact us or register online to:

• Schedule staff development on asbestos, mold, or other safety and health regulations (see our Course Offerings and Training Services Catalog.),
• Schedule respirator medical evaluations to comply with the OSHA respiratory protection standard 1910.134,
• Order the proper respirator and filters for your staff, and
• Schedule quantitative respirator fit testing to comply with the OSHA respiratory protection standard 1910.134, to be performed on the day of the class.

We provide this One-Stop Service making your occupational safety and health requirements simple and easy to complete.  Contact us here or register online here.

Finally, FEDTC will continue to lead the field by attending the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) Environmental Conference (save the dates March 16-17, 2023) and the Environmental Information Association (EIA) National Conference & Exhibition (save the dates March 25 - 29, 2023).  We will bring back the current information from these conferences and share it in our classes.  FEDTC is one of the few training providers that provide the FEDTC dropbox folder (with hundreds of reference documents regarding indoor air quality, asbestos, lead, mold, etc.), we also provide our students with the negative air app (to help calculate the number of negative air units for a work area), our project monitor and air sampling technician courses include a New York State or New York City asbestos air sampling table (these can be purchased here) and for those considering opening your own business our book "Do As I Say, Not As I Did What I've Learned After 30 Years of Being in Business" discusses the four pillars of operating a successful business, you can purchase the book here.  We wish you a Merry Holidays and Hope to see you in the New Year!

Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards for Fiscal Year 2021 (Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) annually posts the top ten frequently violated standards.  The purpose of this posting is to give employers the opportunity to fix these violations before OSHA inspects your project site.  When we discuss these with our clients and students we call these violations the low-hanging fruit for OSHA.  

1. Fall Protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501) [related safety resources]
2. Respiratory Protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) [related safety resources]
3. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) [related safety resources]
4. Hazard Communication, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200) [related safety resources]
5. Scaffolding, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) [related safety resources]
6. Fall Protection Training, construction (29 CFR 1926.503) [related safety resources]
7. Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147) [related safety resources]
8. Eye and Face Protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.102) [related safety resources]
9. Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178) [related safety resources]
10. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general industry (29 CFR 1910.212) [related safety resources]

OSHA in a sense is providing you with fair warning that during an OSHA inspection these are the first thing they will be looking at.  Many of these items can be easily resolved before OSHA arrives, such as respiratory protection, hazard communication, ladders, fall protection training, scaffolding, and powered industrial trucks.  Remember these items must be documented and this can be easily done, also.

Future Environment Designs together with SiteDocs can handle the documentation and training requirements for the above safety hazards and have this information easily documented.  With SiteDocs this documentation is readily available on multiple devices allowing inspections in the field to be documented, stored, and made available upon request.  Future Environment Designs can not only provide your staff the training and documentation required either in-person, virtual, or through e-learning, but we can also create the written programs and inspections required under the various standards.  So visit our website and click on Contact to start discussing how we can help you be better prepared for an OSHA inspection.