Autodesk, AGC Equip Women in Construction with Right-Fitting Safety Harnesses

Autodesk Construction Solutions and the Associated General Contractors of America are awarding grants to 21 construction firms to provide more than 300 fall protection safety harnesses designed for women. The grants are designed to address one of the most significant safety hazards for construction craft professionals and recruit more women into high-paying construction careers.

“We recognize the need for more women to join the construction industry to help fill the labor gap, and keeping them as safe as possible must be top priority,” said Allison Scott, director at Autodesk Construction Solutions. “For 300 women in construction, AGC and Autodesk are highlighting this need, and this is a first step in drawing attention to the importance of personal protective equipment and other customized equipment for women.”

Scott noted that women make up less than 9% of the total construction workforce, and less than 3% of the construction craft professional workforce, according to federal data. Meanwhile, U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration data shows that falls in construction are one of the “fatal four” leading contributors to injury and death for workers in the industry.

“Our members understand that the best way to recruit more women into the industry is to make sure they have the support to do their jobs safely,” said AGC of America’s CEO Stephen E. Sandherr. “These grants will help equip hundreds of women with the kind of custom equipment and properly-fitting safety gear they need most.”

Sandherr noted that ill-fitting PPE can fail to prevent and even contribute to serious injury from falls. He added that the grants will not only improve safety but help construction firms address labor shortages at a time when 80% of firms report having a hard time finding enough qualified workers to hire.

Representatives with the winning firms report the new grants will help them improve their safety programs and recruit more women into the industry. Together the 21 firms winning the grants employ 22,000 people. The firms are:

1. Hughes General Contractors (North Salt Lake, Utah)
2. Hurckman Mechanical Industries (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
3. Swalling General Contractors, LLC (Anchorage, Alaska)
4. Mid-Valley Commercial Construction (Salem, Oregon)
5. Wayne Electric, Inc. (Houston, Tecas)
6. Christman Constructors, Inc. (CCI) (Lansing, Michigan)
7. Faith Technologies (Menasha, Wisconsin)
8. Thompson Electric Company (Sioux Falls, South Dakota
9. Newkirk Electric Associates, Inc. (Muskegon, Michigan)
10. Healy Tibbitts Builders, Inc. (Aiea, Hawaii)
11. Capital Electric Construction Co., Inc. (Kansas City, Missouri)
12. Snyder Roofing of Oregon (Tigard, Oregon)
13. Elcon Corp. (Everett, Washington)
14. S. Bellows Construction Corp. (Houston, Texas)
15. McGough Construction (Roseville, Minnesota)
16. Tarlton Corp. (St. Louis, Missouri)
17. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (Dallas, Texas)
18. Wanzek Construction, Inc. (Fargo, North Dakota)
19. Med-Tex Services (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
20. Rosendin Electric, Inc. (San Jose, California)
21. Performance Contracting Inc. (Pasadena, Texas)

AGC is partnering with safety equipment manufacturers MSA and 3M to provide the proper-fitting safety harnesses designed with women in mind, and all winning firms are required to participate in training programs on the proper use of the harnesses.