The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that the 7th annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction has been rescheduled for Sept. 14–18. While OSHA postponed the event earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the agency continues to encourage employers to promote fall safety virtually or while employing social distancing practices among small groups.
OSHA is partnering with other safety organizations in 2020 to encourage employers to provide safety demonstrations on fall protection equipment, conduct talks regarding fall-related hazards, safety policies, goals and expectations, and promote the event by using the #StandDown4Safety on social media.
“This national initiative brings much needed attention to falls, which continue to be the leading cause of fatalities in construction,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt. “Since OSHA began doing fall prevention stand-down events six years ago, nearly 10 million workers have been reached by our message that falls are preventable. These efforts have been successful in raising awareness of the recognition, evaluation, and control of fall hazards.”
Extensive resources are available on OSHA’s Fall Prevention Stand-Down webpage at http://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown and are presented in various languages, including English, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese. Resources include a brief video titled “5 Ways to Prevent Workplace Falls,” which encourages employers to educate and train workers on fall protection equipment; a series of fall prevention publications, with an emphasis on construction, and fall prevention videos; OSHA’s Fall Prevention Training Guide, which provides a lesson plan for employers, including several Toolbox Talks; and guidance on ladder and scaffolding safety.
Employers are also encouraged to provide feedback after their events, and obtain a personalized certificate of participation.
The national safety stand-down is part of OSHA’s fall prevention campaign, and was developed in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Occupational Research Agenda and The Center for Construction Research and Training.
