May 1 – 5, 2023 is OSHA’s National Safety Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. This year, we’re calling on GBCA member contractors to support this campaign by performing fall protection equipment inspections (FPEI) and removing any equipment that is damaged or past the date of its effectiveness.
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.
This year, GBCA, OSHA, and the Mid-Atlantic Construction Safety Council are working together to promote awareness of fall hazards on the jobsite. 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.
