In honor of National Stand-Down Fall Prevention Week, Erin Gilmore, Office Director for Construction Services with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to share the history and goals for the week.
National Stand-Down Fall Prevention Week was created as a way to bring awareness to accidents at the workplace from falls. OSHA has worked with different organizations to create a list of industry best practices. These practices are shared with construction organizations to better educate them on the safety procedures available to help reduce fall accidents in the workplace.
Prevention week is focused on helping thousands of workers and companies in the construction industry, which leads all industries in fall accidents in the workplace. The goal of National Stand-Down Fall Prevention Week is not just to reduce the number fall accidents, but to completely eliminate preventable fall accidents.
Employers and employees can get involved with National Stand-Down Fall Prevention Week by holding an event known as a stand-down, to discuss safety in the workplace. Any workplace can hold a stand-down by focusing on fall hazards and reinforcing the importance of fall prevention.
For companies not exposed to fall hazards, this could be an opportunity to discuss other safety hazards in the workplace. Employees can use the opportunity to speak with management about different hazards in the workplace they see.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.