Construction Industry Safety and Health

RSS

OSHA’s notice of proposed rulemaking for respirable silica has officially been published in the Federal Register, which ushers in the next phase of the process: public input. The public is strongly encouraged to participate in the process of developing a final rule.

A Michigan State University researcher has quantified something rarely measured in studies about productivity in the construction industry: the cost of arguments.

A recent survey of construction and safety professionals highlights the need to include safety management in the earliest phases of construction contracts, according to the authors of an article in this month’s Professional Safety, the journal of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and OSHA signed an agreement last week to work together to provide NAWIC members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of workers.

Yes, respirators will be the primary PPE discussed when protecting workers against silica dust exposures. Silica dust often arises when workers are cutting, crushing, drilling, grinding or otherwise disturbing material that might loosen silica, particularly in construction and mining work.

After five consecutive years of decreases, construction deaths rose five percent last year, propelling the construction industry into the top spot in terms of work-related fatalities per industry in 2012.

Reactions to OSHA’s proposed rule to protect workers from exposure to crystalline silica have come swiftly from the EHS community, along with the industry and business sectors.

OSHA took industry and EHS professionals by surprise late Friday by announcing what some call a long-overdue proposed rule to  lower worker exposure to crystalline silica – a substance that causes cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease in those who are exposed to it.

As it has since 2002, the Illinois State Fair this year hosted a somber reminder of a transportation hazard: a wall memorializing the names of those killed in highway work zones.

More than 25% of construction workers responding to a recent survey by the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) said that they had suffered a work-related injury at some point in their career that they did not report.