Firms Participate in National Safety Stand-Down May 2-6

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In 2014, almost 40 percent of all construction fatalities were fall related, and all of these deaths were preventable. That’s the key message the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants to deliver to employers and workers alike during its third annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls from May 2-6.

Falls continue to be the construction industry’s leading cause of death; each year, hundreds of workers die and thousands more suffer catastrophic, debilitating injuries. Despite these chilling statistics, the absence of proper fall protection remains the violation cited most frequently by federal safety inspectors.

OSHA and thousands of employers nationwide will participate in 2016’s Stand-Down events. The agency launched its first National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in 2014. Thousands of companies and more than 2.5 million workers took part in the Stand-Down in 2015, making it the largest occupational safety event ever hosted.

A typical Stand-Down allows companies to stop work at a designated time to discuss and demonstrate how to the best prevent falls, and to encourage workers to apply these methods consistently. OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down web page provides free information on how to:

• Conduct an event
• Receive a certificate of participation after the event
• Access educational and training resources, including fact sheets in both English and Spanish

For a list of free Stand-Down events open to the public near you, visit the Stand-Down calendar of events.