Last week, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration partnered with over 25,000 businesses to bring awareness to measures which can prevent fall hazards in construction. These businesses provided fall safety information throughout the week to over 1 million employees in an effort to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities caused by falls. Falls are the most common cause of death in the construction industry, and OSHA is taking a hard stance against inadequate fall protection and ineffective training.

“This is an unprecedented event. Tens of thousands of employers and hundreds of thousands of workers across the country have joined our campaign to save lives and prevent fatal falls in the construction industry,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “The economy is on the rebound, housing starts are on the rise and the summer construction season is getting underway. Now is the time to focus on this vital safety issue and make sure all construction workers come home at the end of every workday.”

The magnitude of this movement, coupled with the words of Perez show that fall safety is at the forefront of what OSHA will be focusing on. So if you are in the construction industry, it is imperative that you have iron-clad fall safety procedures and training in place. If you have not recently reviewed your plans, or if they are not firmly set in writing, it is time to review, update, and finalize them. If you are worried that your plans are not up to par, it is advisable you contact a qualified third party occupational safety and health auditing firm to help you update your plans.

If you should have any questions about your fall protection policies, or any other health and safety policies, please contact us and we will help you bring your company up to code. If you have anything to add about the National Fall Safety Stand-Down, please leave a comment.