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News Aug. 20, 2020

OSHA will hold virtual safety stand-down

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s seventh annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction will be a virtual event held Sept. 14-18. The event was postponed from its original May dates because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, OSHA, CPWR—The Center for Construction Research and Training and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health encourage employers and workers to participate virtually or with social distancing measures on job sites. OSHA, CPWR and NIOSH are working to develop activities and materials to facilitate safe stand-downs, such as videos and webinars that can be viewed from anywhere and easy-to-share infographics.

“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.”

Resources currently available on OSHA’s Fall Prevention Stand-Down webpage include:

  • A brief video, “5 Ways to Prevent Workplace Falls,” which encourages employers to educate and train workers regarding 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
  • Guidance regarding ladder and scaffolding safety

For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

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