October 1, 2021 - This summer, Aldo Zambetti (pictured) joined the safety and health side of the unionized sheet metal industry as program director at the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust Inc. (SMOHIT).

Zambetti started in sheet metal in 1980 and spent 20 years at the same company where his father worked his entire 36-year career. Of Zambetti’s own 41-year career, he worked in the field for 20 years, 16 of those years as a full-time apprentice instructor and training coordinator for Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 in Philadelphia, his home local.

In 2014, he accepted a position as field staff representative with the International Training Institute (ITI), the educational arm of the unionized sheet metal industry, where he oversaw 35 training centers in the northeast United States. In addition to being the in-house authority on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), he also is an OSHA master trainer.

“My new job is to enhance and maintain programs that SMOHIT offers,” Zambetti said. “I will be focusing on pulling together all the threads of job site safety: the physical safety, illness prevention and mental safety.”

Zambetti began his new job by spending a significant amount of time on SMOHIT’s suicide prevention measures and integrating those efforts into the SMART Member Assistance Program (MAP). He’s also working on the SMOHIT website to make sure necessary resources are readily available to members.

“I thought I really enjoyed my job before,” Zambetti said. “But this new job brought my enjoyment to a whole new level. I really like that now I’m able to help members and their families. It’s just awesome.”

Jointly sponsored by SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation workers, and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) Inc. was founded in 1986 to address the impact of decades-long asbestos exposure on those working in the sheet metal industry. To date, tens of thousands of union sheet metal workers have been screened as part of its ongoing Job Hazards Screening program (formerly Asbestos Screening).

SMOHIT has since expanded its mission to operate on four separate but related tracks: monitor and document the health of union sheet metal workers related to workplace exposures and hazards; provide safety information and training to promote best practices on and off the job; advocate for the physical, mental and emotional health and safety of SMART and SMACNA members with government and through likeminded allied organizations; and provide diet, exercise and other lifestyle information to address the health and wellness of union members and contractors.