OSHA Appoints New Director for its Construction Directorate

  • Posted on

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels has selected Dean McKenzie as the new director of the agency’s directorate of construction. McKenzie served as director of OSHA’s Office of Construction Services from 2012-13, then became the deputy director in 2013, and has been the acting director since January of this year. With more than 40 years of experience in the field of construction, McKenzie has an exceptional understanding of the safety and health issues facing the industry. He started out in the steel mills of Gary, Indiana as a journeyman millwright in … Read more

Filed under: eNews, Movers & ShakersTagged with: , ,

Is Your Crew Scaffold Savvy? Best Practices for Scaffolds, Temporary Works and Working Platforms

  • Posted on

Fall protection is the most frequently cited OSHA violation. And for construction workers, falls are the leading cause of death according to the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration. In addition, an estimated 2.3 million construction workers, or 65 percent of the construction industry, work on scaffolds. In a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics study, 72 percent of workers injured in scaffold accidents attributed the accident either to the planking or support giving way, or to the employee slipping or being struck by a falling object. All of these accidents could have been controlled by compliance … Read more

Filed under: eNews, SafetyTagged with: , , , ,

OSHA Announces Safety Stand-Down at Worksites Throughout Southeast

  • Posted on

ATLANTA, Ga. – In 2014, 2,630 workers suffered from heat illness while 18 died from heat stroke and related causes on the job – all of which was preventable. To raise awareness about these dangers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, employers and trade associations will conduct a one-hour Safety Stand-Down at construction sites and workplaces in eight Southern states from June 27 to July 1. Workers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee will stop work voluntarily for one hour at 7 a.m. EDT to conduct safety training focused on … Read more

Filed under: NewsTagged with: , , , ,

AGC Launches New Construction-Focused Podcast

  • Posted on

AGC of America recently launched ConstructorCast, its new monthly podcast that explores in depth issues affecting the construction industry. For each episode, an AGC representative will speak with a different authority on today’s topics including public policy, safety and health, labor and many more. In the first episode, the organization speaks with David Ashinoff, director of AGC’s PAC and Political Advocacy, about the 2016 elections. Upcoming episodes will focus on OSHA’s new silica rule and multi-employer pension reform. Listen to the first episode here: https://soundcloud.com/agcofamerica/constructorcast-2016-elections.

Filed under: NewsTagged with: , , ,

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

  • Posted on

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 … Read more

Filed under: NewsTagged with: , , ,