Category: Construction

Excavation and trenching

Trenching and Excavation: OSHA Enforcement and Guidance

Excavating and trenching are some of the most hazardous operations in construction, and OSHA is keeping an eye on employers. Today we’re taking look at some recent enforcement actions surrounding trench collapse hazards along with a guidance document from OSHA.

Construction

5 Safety Must-Haves on Construction Jobsites

When it comes to dangerous jobs, working on a construction site is always going to be near the top of the list. The number of things that can go wrong on a construction site is nearly endless, and many of these issues can result in serious harm and even death.

The Hazards of Roofing

While falls from roofs are a major hazard in the general construction industry, hazards posed by hot work during built-up roofing are also significant. With warm weather approaching in much of the country, roofing work will pick up, and this is a good time for roofing employers to review their practices to protect roofers. Several […]

Construction Worker

Focus Four Hazards Highlighted by OSHA

OSHA periodically reenergizes its Focus Four Hazards campaign—an initiative intended to raise awareness about the four leading hazards in the construction industry, described by OSHA as falls, caught in or between, struck by, and electrocution.

OSHA Regulatory Assistance Needed for Homebuilders

OSHA regulations are a “massive challenge” to small businesses in the homebuilding industry. Accordingly, OSHA should shift its emphasis from a “disproportionate” reliance on traditional enforcement and levying significant monetary penalties to compliance assistance.

Construction slip trip fall

Prevent Slips and Falls at Your Construction Site

Slip-and-fall accidents are one of the leading causes of injury in the construction workplace. While the most catastrophic of these occur when working from heights, many injuries also happen at the ground level. Many accidents occur when walking across uneven ground that is too soft, too hard, wet, or muddy.

female construction worker

Renewed OSHA Alliance Protects Women in Construction

Women in construction are in the minority by a wide margin, and for that reason face safety and health challenges typically not encountered by men.  OSHA has recognized the disparity and the associated risks. Accordingly, in 2013, the agency formed an alliance with the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), which the two parties […]

New York construction

Uptick in New York Construction Fatalities Revealed by Report

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) has released its latest construction fatality findings. “Deadly Skyline: An Annual Report on Construction Fatalities in New York State” cites “alarming increases in New York State construction fatalities.” The document also notes that “employers routinely violate legal regulations with impunity.”

Fatality Leads to Citations, Fines for Foundation Builder

OSHA has cited and fined a Massachusetts foundation company for failing to protect employees against crushing hazards installing permanent foundation supports beneath a public library. The company faces more than $212,000 in proposed penalties.

Drone

A Closer Look: Building a Safer Workplace with UAVs

What’s the most dangerous thing your workers do? Do they climb communication towers? Do they enter hazardous environments or situations? Do they travel on rough terrain? What if you could automate those tasks in ways that kept your employees out of harm’s way? What if, by doing so, you could significantly increase the efficiency and […]