Survey Says: ABC Members Invested $1.6 Billion to Upskill Construction Workforce

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Associated Builders and Contractors recently released its 2024 Workforce Development Survey, which found its member contractors invested $1.6 billion to provide craft, leadership and health and safety education to more than 1.3 million course attendees nationwide in 2023, up from $1.5 billion in 2022 and on track with $1.6 billion in 2021. Other key findings included: Safety education accounts for the greatest share of total workforce investment at 59%, which has remained stable since 2022 ABC contractors invested an average of 7.5% of payroll on workforce development in 2023, slightly down from 8% in 2022 Trade and specialty contractors continued … Read more

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OSHA Photo Contest Returns to Promote Awareness of Heat Dangers

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Soaring temperatures are already causing concerns at workplaces — outdoors and indoors — throughout the nation. To allow employers, workers and other stakeholders to help one another understand and address the dangers of heat hazards, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is again sponsoring the agency’s “Beat the Heat” photo contest. In 2023, OSHA launched a national competition challenging employers, workers and others to share their best tools and resources for educating workers about the dangers of heat exposure in indoor and outdoor workplaces. Open to all industries, the 2024 Beat the Heat competition challenges participants to … Read more

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Beat the Heat

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Safety reminders to ‘keep your cool’ this summer By Richard Ryan “Hottest summer on record” is a phrase many of us are likely tired of hearing, and none so much as construction project leaders. When you coordinate and lead hundreds of people working outdoors every day, “hottest summer” goes beyond an uncomfortable inconvenience and can quickly verge on danger for all involved. As with many aspects of construction safety, keeping your team safe during hot conditions rests on three equally critical pillars: knowledge, preparation and collective care. When we know the warning signs, prepare to respond competently and commit to … Read more

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Applying Hierarchy of Fall Protection Controls Saves Lives, Money

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By Philip Jacklin Falls continue to be a leading cause of death and injury on construction sites. Per Occupational Safety and Health Administration 1926.501, employers must protect construction workers in an environment with the potential to fall 6 feet or more to the next lower level. (Note that general industry companies must adhere to OSHA 1910 and must be protected at 4 feet or more.) On a typical jobsite, the next lower level could be an elevator shaft, several floors of unfinished framing, steel beams, rebar, heavy machinery, the hard earth below or even an excavation pit underneath that. The … Read more

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American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Bechtel Partner to Prevent Construction Worker Suicides

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The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Bechtel recently entered a multiyear partnership dedicated to saving lives in the construction community lost to suicide. The new partnership will reach 500,000 U.S. construction workers over five years through industry-specific programs and resources developed by AFSP and Bechtel. The general contractor’s $7-million commitment to AFSP will fund the effort and is the largest-ever pledge received by AFSP. The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any profession in the U.S. In fact, the number of suicides in the industry is nearly five times higher than the number of lives … Read more

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