This year, GBCA, OSHA, the Mid-Atlantic Construction Safety Council, the Philadelphia Building Trades Council, and the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters are working together to promote awareness of fall hazards on the jobsite as part of the nationwide safety campaign, May 1 – 5, 2023. As part of this campaign, which includes the National Safety Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction in May, we are promoting fall protection equipment inspections (FPEI).
Fall protection equipment should be regularly inspected and removed if in poor condition or past its date of effectiveness. General contractors will be principally responsible for conducting on-site inspections of fall protection equipment and removals. OSHA and the Mid-Atlantic Construction Safety Council have created a Smartsheet to help record and report on keeping jobsite equipment up to date.
In preparation for this year’s campaign, we are offering two trainings:
Fall Protection Training
Date: Thursday, April 6, 2023
Location: Finishing Trades Institute, 2190 Hornig Road, Philadelphia, PA 19116
This FREE training is open (no registration necessary!), and would benefit apprentice training coordinators and staff, signatory contractors, OSHA compliance officers, business agents, safety professionals, etc. The session will cover topics including PPE inspections, roofing and leading edge issues, retractables, and harnesses.
OSHA Fall Protection Campaign Kickoff
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Location: ONLINE
Save the date for this meeting, and learn more about how to submit data to OSHA through the Fall Protection Equipment Inspection Smartsheet for participating contractors.
Employers that participate will be able to provide feedback about their campaign efforts and download a Certificate of Participation from OSHA’s website. In 2022, 13 GBCA members participated in the campaign, removing 158 pieces of equipment from job sites, potentially saving 158 lives.
Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 351 of the 1,008 construction fatalities recorded in 2020 (BLS data). CPWR’s Construction Focus Four Dashboard shows trends that fall fatalities continued to increase, from 260 (2011) to 401 (2019). Those deaths were preventable. The National Safety Stand-Down raises fall hazard awareness across the country in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.
For more information on OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction as well as publications, tool-box talks and other training modules please visit OSHA’s website.
