The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fall prevention campaign includes the National Fall Safety Stand down. It was launched eight years ago in conjunction with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Occupational Research Agenda and The Center for Construction Research and Training. Each spring, construction firms across the United States participate in Construction Safety Week. This national effort was developed specifically to reduce injuries and fatalities resulting from worker-related falls.
CWC participates each year, in varying ways, depending upon our project type, size, logistics and current phase of construction. Our Construction Safety Week events have ranged from an “enhanced” toolbox talk to site-wide third-party demonstrations of the latest fall protection technology. Hard hat stickers, brochures and certificates of completion are distributed at conclusion of each session. In addition, CWC has joined in the social media promotion of this important topic in an effort to heighten worker awareness on our job sites and NYC construction industry at large.
Construction Safety Week is not just a focus on stopping falls. OSHA’s three remaining “Focus” or “Fatal Four” hazards are also discussed (struck-by, caught/in-between and electrocution). So please take a minute or two and think about what you can do to help prevent falls. The slogan for this year’s campaign is “Be Present. Be Focused. Be Safe.”, which speaks to the risks present in every aspect of our work, including ones unobservable. These external pressures and interruptions interfere with our ability to stay present, focused and safe on the job. That is why it is critically important to promote a holistic approach to error reduction in the workplace. This means ensuring that we are always both physically and mentally present, and that we make every aspect of our wellbeing part of our safety culture and initiatives. We must categorize both physical and psychological safety, and how together, they play an important role in our relationships with our team members and with our ability to bring our safest, most productive, best selves to work every day.
How many times have we seen the sign: “A good safety record is no accident?”
