Construction safety is in everyone’s interest. With more than 10 million people employed in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), most people know someone putting on work boots, a safety helmet, and other protective equipment each day.
Falls from elevation remain a top cause of death for construction workers, constituting more than one-third of all recorded construction fatalities in 2022, according to BLS data. These are preventable deaths.
This year, in a continued effort to raise fall hazard awareness across the country and stop fall fatalities and injuries, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is hosting its 11th National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction.
Opportunities to Participate
In celebration of the 10th Construction Safety Week — an annual, weeklong industry-wide initiative focused on safety — and as an extension of the week’s mission to “together, build a stronger, safer industry,” Construction Safety Week and OSHA are partnering in an effort to pause jobsites throughout the United States on Wednesday, May 8, to create the largest industry-wide construction stand-down ever held.
Those who cannot participate on May 8 are invited to stand down, in support of the mission, at any time during the week of May 6-10.
Industry workers can access and utilize OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down Resources, as well as materials found on Construction Safety Week’s planning page, to demonstrate support.
“We must work together to prevent and eliminate hazards in our work,” leaders with OSHA and Construction Safety Week said in a joint press release. “Every voice on our site that shares a safety suggestion or concern deserves to be heard and valued. Every construction worker deserves to leave our site at the end of the day in the same, or better shape, than they arrived.”
“And every friend and family member of the people on our sites has the right to trust that employers are looking out for the safety and health of their loved one,” the statement continues. “Demonstrate to your team members that you believe this to be true. Help us raise awareness across the industry as to how we can prevent fatal falls and serious injuries.”
The 2024 event is the first-ever partnership between OSHA and Construction Safety Week, according to the organizations. After the conclusion, participants can download a certificate of participation to be recognized as a participant.
About Construction Safety Week
Construction Safety Week is an annual event designed to raise the awareness of the industry’s ongoing commitment to building a culture of safety through sharing best practices, tools and resources at job sites and offices across the United States and Canada.
Safety Week was founded by members of The Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI) and the Incident & Injury Free Executive Forum (IIF), and it now includes 70 of the top contractors in the industry while representing thousands of workers. Additional support comes from Safety Week sponsors, partners, and advocates.
About OSHA
With the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA is part of the United States Department of Labor.
The OSHA Act covers most private sector employers and their workers, in addition to some public sector employers and workers in the 50 states and certain territories and jurisdictions under federal authority. Those jurisdictions include the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, Johnston Island, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands, as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
For more information, contact: Construction Safety Week, www.constructionsafetyweek.com; OSHA, www.osha.gov