The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) has used reports produced by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as the basis of three short training videos that vividly illustrate some of the hazards of construction work.

NIOSH’s FACE Reports are an “often overlooked treasure,” according to CPWR Executive Director Pete Stafford.

Every FACE report provides exacting details of the conditions and series of events that led to a deadly incident and concludes with recommendations for preventing similar deaths. 

Each CPWR video is based on the true story of a fatal construction incident. The two-to-three minute videos begin by describing the work being performed, the background of the crew and the worksite conditions, and then let the decisions made unfold to show, sadly, why the fatality could have been prevented.

• "Look Up and Live" vividly illustrates how an aluminum ladder plus power lines can be a deadly combination.
• "No New Year" tells the tragic story of a New Year's Eve trench collapse.
• "A Simple Task" describes how a worker washing windows during final clean-up of a new condominium fell from a ladder. 

“Each video delivers the basics of each story, plus relevant statistics, and images of work practices and equipment to make work safer,” said Stafford.

The videos are posted on the CPWR’s new CPWR YouTube channel. Each posting has text with links to the appropriate Toolbox Talk, a related handout, as well as the original NIOSH FACE Report.