As the Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction moves into its second year, Occupational Health and Safety Online has posted an article on the campaign by CPWR’s Pete Stafford. The article begins: We recently received a video so remarkable that it deserves to be shared with everyone who walks onto a construction site. In “I fell off the roof today,” posted on YouTube, a roofer identified only as “Isidro” shares a harrowing experience. While working on the roof of a three-story, stick-built residential project, Isidro lost his balance. But not his life. Fortunately, his employer had supplied suitable fall protection gear, and Isidro had donned it properly. “The first thing I did on the roof is install an anchor above,” he explained. “I already had my harness on. I had everything on, everything in place.” His fall over the roof’s edge was arrested almost immediately, and his co-workers freed him before he suffered any lasting effects. Still photographs presented in the video show Isidro dangling after the fall, shocked but unharmed, driving the point home. “You will never see me on a site untied,” Isidro concludes. “We all have family. So protect yourself.” Read more about the Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction and ways to prevent falls at Occupational Health and Safety...
Read More“Everybody seems to think that we’re invincible. At least I used to think that.” So begins a digital story about Joe, a 45-year old roofing supervisor in California who died tragically after he fell through a warehouse roof skylight while on the job. He fell 30 feet onto a floor, and died from his injuries. OHB’s California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (CA/FACE) program produced a five-minute digital story with two of Joe’s co-workers highlighting the events that led up to his death and what could have been done to prevent it. The moving video will be used by roofers and others in trainings to prevent similar fatalities from occurring. Watch the skylight video The video will be promoted as Workers Memorial Day events commemorate workers who gave their lives for their work and highlight efforts to prevent workplace deaths. Workers Memorial Day is April...
Read MoreHabitat for Humanity is known for its volunteers – many with no knowledge of construction – who help remodel and build new housing for those in need. So the organization takes steps to ensure the safety of its volunteers. CPWR Researcher Vicki Kaskutas documented the process of incorporating fall protection into the entire building process on a St. Louis Habitat project. Kaskutas tracked the director’s collaboration with local businesses and professionals, including a tool rental company, an engineer, and machine shop, then noted all solutions he implemented to construct a two-story home with basement – using fall protection in every situation that arose. Read the case study...
Read MoreOSHA Booklet entitled Falling Off Ladders Can Kill: Use Them Safely is now available. The booklet has the English and Spanish text in the same version. OSHA is currently working on a smartphone friendly version of the same...
Read MoreNow under Training & Other Resources you can find CPWR’s Construction Solutions. If you want a solution to control fall hazards while on a ladder, scaffold, or roof, check the Construction Solution. If you know of a solution that controls or eliminates a hazard, you can suggest a...
Read MoreNIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and State FACE (Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation) Reports have been added to the Training and Other Resources. The goal of the FACE program is to prevent occupational fatalities across the nation by identifying and investigating work situations at high risk for injury and then formulating and disseminating prevention strategies to those who can intervene in the work place....
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