An agency in denial

Friday, March 6, 2009 | 2:09 a.m.

State lawmakers are discussing ways to improve construction safety in Nevada after a rash of accidents on the Las Vegas Strip left 12 workers dead in an 18-month period. The first order of business should be strengthening the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Tom Czehowski, head of Nevada OSHA, admitted to a Senate committee Wednesday that the series of deaths “caught everyone off guard. It shouldn’t have, but it did.”

That is a startling revelation for the head of the agency that is supposed to ensure Nevadans’ safety at work, but Czehowski said the situation was unprecedented.

“I think a message has certainly been sent to this state, this valley, construction workers, contractors, all of us, that safety awareness has to come above production,” Czehowski said.

Nevada OSHA reacted poorly to the problems and didn’t have the regulations in place or the resources to handle the situation. Instead of advocating for change in the system, including stronger regulations and aggressive enforcement, Nevada OSHA is in denial over the scope of the problem.

Despite complaining about high turnover and a lack of experience on his inspection staff, Czehowski said the agency is operating “the way it is supposed to be operating.”

That is unacceptable. Nevadans want change. They want greater protection to make sure what happened on the Strip doesn’t happen again.

Assembly Bill 148 would be a good first step. The bill, which will be heard today by the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee, would require construction workers to take a 10-hour safety course and supervisors to take a 30-hour course. As Alexandra Berzon reported in Thursday’s Las Vegas Sun, Nevada OSHA has questioned whether it could enforce the bill.

That is ridiculous, and the Gibbons administration should be ashamed. Nevada OSHA should encourage this bill because it would go a long way toward preventing accidents. The bill’s sponsor, Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, said the training is an attempt to “totally change the culture of safety in the industry.”

First, the Legislature will have to make sure the culture of Nevada OSHA changes and the agency becomes the watchdog it is supposed to be.