Welcome to the 2021 National Safety Stand Down for Fall Prevention Week - May 3rd - 7th. A time when the construction industry is working with federal, state, and local organizations to raise awareness of construction falls and to better prevent them. The National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction was launched in 2012 with leadership from NIOSH, OSHA, and CPWR.
Despite ongoing efforts by construction employers and safety professionals to prevent falls, provide fall protection systems, and train workers, falls continue to be the leading cause of death in the construction industry. Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 401 of the 1,061 construction fatalities recorded in 2019 (BLS data). 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.
Safety is everyone's responsibility and it is an integral part of day to day operations at Winter Park Construction. In addition to the national safety regulations mandated and monitored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, WPC has established an enhanced protocol for all of our jobsites. All WPC employees are cultured to take an active interest in safety program participation and extensively trained to look for, record and correct all unsafe conditions. Our safety mandate is to provide:
an accident and injury free work environment
protection of the general public
reduction of costs associated with accident losses
control of unintentional production interruptions
To support National Safety Stand Down for Fall Prevention Week, WPC jobsites will be taking extra time to talk about safety, to enforce protocols and to ensure we are providing the safest possible work environment for our employees, suppliers and subcontractors.
Each year, the National Safety Stand-Down event is the cornerstone of the campaign. This year, business leaders, labor organizations, community groups, and other construction industry stakeholders will participate in virtual or socially distanced Stand-Down events from May 3-7. To kick-off the week leaders from OSHA, NIOSH and CPWR will share some of the latest data related to OSHA enforcement, incident rates, and underlying causes of falls, as well as real-life stories and new fall prevention resources to use during the Stand-Down week and beyond.
Panelists: James Frederick, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, OSHA Dr. John Howard, Director, NIOSH, and Administrator of the World Trade Center Health Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Scott Ketcham, Director, OSHA’s Directorate of Construction G. Scott Earnest, Ph.D., P.E., C.S.P., Associate Director for Construction, Office of Construction Safety and Health, NIOSH Chris Cain, CIH, CPWR Executive Director
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