Companies and workers in all 50 states joined the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on May 4 to launch the second annual National Fall Safety Stand-Down.
Through May 15, construction industry employers and employees are encouraged to voluntarily stop work to learn and discuss how to prevent deaths and catastrophic injuries.
Industry, business leaders and others — including universities, labor organizations, and community and faith-based groups — have scheduled stand-downs nationwide. The U.S. Air Force is also joining the effort by hosting stand-down events at bases worldwide.
One of the many events already held was led by students at Madison Park echnical-Vocational High School and YouthBuild Boston who have been safely building a low-income, affordable house there since September 2014. On May 5, they traded their tools for notepads and pencils during their own stand-down.
Discussing the importance of fall safety, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels said: "People who fall are not just numbers — they are mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. The cost of building our nation and economy cannot be the lives of its workforce, and that's what this Stand-Down is all about." In 2014, more than 5,000 employers and more than one million workers participated in the record-setting event. Organizers expect to set a new record for participation in 2015.
FALLS ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN CONSTRUCTION.
In 2013, there were 291 fatal falls to a lower level out of 828 total fatalities in construction. Falls can be prevented and lives can be saved through three simple steps to fall prevention:
- PLAN ahead to get the job done safely
- PROVIDE the right equipment
- TRAIN everyone to use the equipment safely
