Employers and workers pause during the workday to discuss safety topics and participate in demonstrations and training on safety harness usage, guard rails and other means to protect workers from falls. Falls are the number one cause of death in the construction industry. The two-week stand-down is part of OSHA’s fall prevention campaign, which began three years ago.
“With the economy on the rebound and housing on the rise, now is the time to for all of us to renew our commitment to sending workers home safe every night,” Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said in a prepared statement. “Last year’s Stand-Down showed us what employers and workers sharing that commitment can accomplish. Responsible employers understand that safety is not a luxury – it is a necessity.”
OSHA has also launched a website for this year’s event, which provides employers with information on how to conduct a stand-down, fact sheets in both English and Spanish and other safety materials. The site also lists this year’s stand-down events which are free and open to the public.
The group said more than 10,000 employers and 1 million workers participated in last year’s stand-down, numbers OSHA would like to triple with this year’s event.
Editor’s Note: Wayne Grayson is the online editor for sister magazine Equipment World
