OSHA Reschedules Annual Safety Stand-Down Event

OSHA has rescheduled its annual event to promote fall prevention in the construction industry to September.

The seventh annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction will be held Sept. 14-18 as the agency continues to encourage employers to promote fall safety either virtually or among small groups using safe social distancing.

OSHA is partnering with other safety organizations during the week to encourage employers to demonstrate to their workers how fall protection equipment works, talk about fall-related hazards, as well as safety policies, goals, and expectations.

The annual event is usually held in the spring but was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

OSHA asks employers to use the hashtag #StandDown4Safety on social media.

Awareness

“This national initiative brings much needed attention to falls, which continue to be the leading cause of fatalities in construction,” said Loren Sweatt, OSHA’s principal deputy assistant secretary.

“Since OSHA began doing fall prevention stand-down events six years ago, nearly 10 million workers have been reached by our message that falls are preventable.

“These efforts have been successful in raising awareness of the recognition, evaluation, and control of fall hazards.”

OSHA has extensive information in several languages on its fall prevention stand-down website including:

• A brief video Five Ways to Prevent Workplace Falls, which encourages employers to educate and train workers on fall protection equipment
• A series of fall prevention publications, with an emphasis on construction, and fall prevention videos
• OSHA’s Fall Prevention Training Guide, which provides a lesson plan for employers, including several Toolbox Talks
• Guidance on ladder and scaffolding safety

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Phillip Montgomery (860.244.1982).