ABC’s Greg Sizemore Appointed Vice Chair, Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention

  • Posted on

Associated Builders and Contractors announced that Greg Sizemore, the association’s vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development, has been appointed vice chair of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention. In this role, Sizemore will help support the alliance’s mission to address suicide prevention as a construction health and safety priority and reach a zero-suicide industry. “I am honored to be a part of this mission committed to raising awareness and equipping all levels of our workforce with the tools and education necessary to reduce the risk of suicide in the construction industry,” said Sizemore. “It is our … Read more

Filed under: SafetyTagged with: , , , ,

Sheet Metal Workers Take Action to Lessen Suicide Rate among Ranks

  • Posted on

Last November, the CDC released a study showing that from 2012 to 2015, males in construction and extraction workers have the highest rate of suicide in the United States. Categorized in that group are the sheet metal workers which, as an organization, has been focusing on bucking the trend and educating membership through a program aimed at not only challenging trends but decades of stereotypes. The Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust, the safety arm of the unionized sheet metal, air conditioning and welding industry, and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation workers, took notice of … Read more

Filed under: eNews, SafetyTagged with: , , ,

Hazard Alert: Opioid Deaths in Construction

  • Posted on

More than 42,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2016. An analysis of fatal opioid overdoses in Ohio showed that construction workers were seven times more likely than other workers to die this way. This is shocking and sad, and there are steps that those in the occupational safety and health community can take. While the CPWR agrees workplace injuries should be prevented with programs like its new Best Built Plans, construction workers continue to get hurt on the job and these injuries cause pain. Doctors routinely prescribe opioids for pain. The CDC reports that as many as one out … Read more

Filed under: eNews, SafetyTagged with: , , ,

Construction Industry Alliance Announces New Resources Aimed at Suicide Prevention

  • Posted on

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors have made new resources available to its members through its membership in the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention. ABC joined the Construction Financial Management Association-led alliance in October 2016 to help provide resources and disseminate information on suicide prevention and mental health awareness in the construction industry, with a goal of building a zero-suicide industry. A 2016 Centers for Disease Control report showed that construction is one of the most at-risk industries for suicide, with 1,324 of the 12,300 suicides (10.8 percent) studied occurring among individuals who worked in the construction or … Read more

Filed under: SafetyTagged with: , , , ,

CFMA Responds to CDC Report on Suicide Rate by Occupational Group

  • Posted on

PRINCETON, N.J. – Statistics released from the CDC on July 1 show that workers in construction and extraction have a 53.3 percent rate of suicide, which is second only to workers in the farming, fishing and forest occupational group (84.5 percent). With 17 states taking part in the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System, this data heightens the need to address suicide prevention and mental health promotion in the construction industry. The Construction Financial Management Association has taken a leading role in efforts to shatter the stigma surrounding mental illness and prevent suicide in construction. Most recently, CFMA formed the … Read more

Filed under: eNews, NewsTagged with: , ,