The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and construction industry and union groups are teaming up to raise awareness about jobsite protection against falls from height, the leading cause of construction fatalities.
OSHA has launched a program of “Safety Stand-Downs,” to take place during the week of June 2-6, in which companies halt work on projects around the U.S., to get briefings and reminders about proper equipment and jobsite steps recommended to avoid or reduce fall injuries.
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said OSHA expects about 1 million workers to take part in the stand-downs.
OSHA’s chief, Assistant Labor Secretary David Michaels, noted that in 2012, falls from heights caused 279 construction worker deaths and more than 8,800 serious injuries. He also said that a lack of fall protection is the most prevalent OSHA violation. Michaels said in a statement, “These falls cause enormous pain and suffering—and we must do everything we can to prevent them.”
他还说，OSHA正在与许多建筑组织合作，包括美国相关总承包商，相关建筑商和承包商以及国家房屋建筑商协会。
Among other partners are labor unions, including the carpenters, laborers, electrical workers, and ironworkers. Also taking part are the union-affiliated CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, as well as the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, state OSHAs and others.
Stephen Sandherr, AGC of America CEO, speaking on June 2 at a stand-down at a Balfour Beatty Construction project in Washington, D.C., said, “This is a week when firms bring construction activity to a standstill so they can focus exclusively on making sure their workers have the latest information and tools to ensure their safety.”
The stand-down included a hands-on demonstration by George Stallings, a partner with safety-equipment company Sales Solutions Inc., of fall-protection equipment. It focused on what Stallings called the “ABCs”—anchoring devices, body wear and connectors.
Sandherr said AGC will be analyzing each of the 806 U.S. construction fatalities in 2012—the most recent year’s data available—to identify “common threads” in those incidents, including those that result from falls. It will share the data with OSHA and any other interested parties.
”Our goal,” he said, “is zero fatalities and zero injuries.”
AGC also released state-by-state lists showing fatality and injury rates for 2012 and earlier years.
副主任迪恩·麦肯齐OSHA的构造ion directorate, told the several dozen workers “I’ve been one of you guys,” noting that he had worked in construction for 35 years before joining OSHA.
麦肯齐说：“我遇到了近乎失败。”“吓到自己了。几乎下降了40英尺。我花了大约一个半小时的时间来脱下我所处的光束。”他补充说：“这可能发生。它发生了很快”
麦肯齐说，瀑布不一定来自极高的高度，并指出2012年与跌倒有关的死亡人数中有21％的高度从10英尺或更少。
Balfour Beatty建筑运营副总裁Richard Ryan在站立时对该组织说：“周末，Balfour Beatty确实证明了此类活动的重要性。”他说，分包商的雇员铁工何塞·洛佩兹（Jose Lopez）因公司项目的高度跌落而死亡。
瑞安（Ryan）要求小组观察洛佩兹（Lopez）及其家人的沉默时期，“记住这些挑战每天都面对我们。”
According to a company statement, Lopez, 26, a worker at a $27-million hangar facility project in Jacksonville, Fla., died on May 30 when he fell from atop a 75-ft-tall roof.
洛佩兹,分包商的员工IMC钢铁公司。, was performing metal roofing work on the aircraft hangar structure when the incident occurred, around 3:20 p.m., said Balfour Beatty Construction, the project’s construction manager. North Carolina-based IMC Steel was working as a subcontractor to Mark Construction Co., according to OSHA’s Jacksonville office, which is investigating.
到6月2日，OSHA合规官在杰克逊维尔航空管理局（JAA）项目进行现场调查，该项目位于前美国海军空军基地塞西尔机场。杰克逊维尔OSHA办公室区域主任Brian Sturtecky表示，该机构应在6月6日之前先发表初步调查结果。
“This is a tragic incident that our organization is reviewing carefully,” Balfour Beatty said in a statement. The company added: “We are focused on supporting [Lopez’s] colleagues working on the…project to deal with the tragedy and we are trying to better understand what happened that led to his fall.”
新利luckENR无法联系IMC Steel发表评论。 The 150,000-sq-ft hangar is being built for Flightstar Aircraft Services. According to JAA’s website, the $27-million project is being financed equally by authority and the Florida Dept. of Transportation.
