Plumbing News

OSHA focuses on construction safety during Construction Fall Safety Stand-Down

Fall Safety Stand-Down will be held May 4-15, 2015.

Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, as hundreds of workers die each year and thousands more suffer catastrophic, debilitating injuries. Yet lack of proper fall protection remains the most frequently cited violation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

To recognize this often fatal hazard, tens of thousands of employers and more than a million workers across the country joined OSHA in 2014 for a week-long Fall Safety Stand-Down, the largest occupational safety event ever held. OSHA hopes to triple these numbers during this year’s two-week Fall Safety Stand-Down, May 4-15.

Employers and workers will pause during their workday for topic talks, demonstrations and training on how to use safety harnesses, guard rails and other means to protect workers from falls. Underscoring the importance of this effort, industry and business leaders — including universities, labor organizations, and community and faith-based groups — have begun scheduling 2015 stand-downs in all 50 states and around the world.

“Fatal falls and injuries impact workers in all kinds of jobs across the country; it’s a broad problem that takes a terrible toll on workers and their families,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.

The National Fall Safety Stand-Down is part of OSHA’s fall prevention campaign, launched three years ago with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH’s National Occupational Research Agenda and The Center for Construction Research and Training. Additional partners for this year’s event include: American Society for Safety Engineers, National Safety Council, National Construction Safety Executives, the United States Air Force, OSHA-approved state plans, state consultation programs and OSHA Training Institute Education Centers.

OSHA and partners would like to encourage all workers and employers that face fall hazards on the job to participate in this year’s Stand-Down. The newly launched National Safety Stand-Down 2015 website (https://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/resources.html) provides details on how to conduct a Stand-Down; receive a certificate of participation; and access free education and training resources, as well as fact sheets and other outreach materials in English and Spanish. It will also include a list of stand-down events free and open to the public.