ConstructConnect Blog

Late last week, OSHA issued an emergency temporary standard requiring companies with 100 or more employees to create, deploy, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for their workers. The ETS does allow an exception for employers to adopt a policy that requires employees to get vaccinated or, instead of being vaccinated, be tested regularly for COVID-19, and be required to wear a face covering while at work.

Construction sites are dangerous places. Safety hazards lurk around every corner. This is evident by the high rate of occupational fatalities and injuries that occur each year in construction. Falls, electrocutions, heavy equipment rollovers, and collapsing scaffolding are just a small number of ways workers can be seriously injured or killed on a construction site.

We’ve compiled the list of Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards for Construction for fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 through September 2021).

Every team has a member who operates the lowest level of enthusiasm possible. Their go-to response to any deviation from the current plan is “I’m fine this way,” even with simple process changes.

For many, the summer months mean vacations at the beach, lounging by the pool, and spending more time outside in the sun. For construction workers, summer means working long hours in the hot sun. All that time in the sun can lead to an increased risk of sunburn, sun poisoning, and skin cancer.

In the construction industry, personal protective equipment (PPE) is considered the last line of defense when it comes to protecting workers from injuries on the jobsite. Employers are required to implement engineering controls and other safety measures to guard against accidents and prevent injuries. In the event those measures fail or can’t be feasibly implemented, PPE is there to prevent an injury when hazards arise.

Construction is one of the largest industries in the world’s economy that generates trillions of dollars every year. However, the industry faces many challenges like tough competition, low profit margins, cost overruns, and tight project delivery deadlines.

Are you doing everything you can to minimize your workers’ exposure to heat-related illnesses? Does your company have a heat illness prevention program in place? We’ve got you covered with these tips and guidelines for keeping your workers safe and productive during these hot summer days.

OSHA, as associated with the safety and health of the employees, introduced National Emphasis Program (NEP) considering the effect of COVID-19. Since the spread of pandemics has shown some significant downtime for the construction industry like other businesses, the NEP program is likely to have some impact on the construction process.

Last week we took a look at the deadliest jobs in construction. One of the stats we discussed was the fact that about 34% of all construction worker deaths are caused by falls. What might surprise you is the fact that falls from ladders account for about 28% of those deaths. The construction standard for ladders (1926.1053) is consistently the third most cited OSHA violation every year for the industry, just behind duty to have fall protection and general requirements for scaffolds.