Date Posted: 05/31/2024

On average, between 2016 and 2020, firefighters responded to more than 11 fires a day at buildings under construction in the U.S. Those fires led to an annual average of five civilian deaths, 62 civilian injuries, and over $376 million in direct property damages.

Construction site fires create a significant risk of property damage, personal injury, and even death.

Date Posted: 02/13/2024

Workers need exit routes clearly marked and unlocked exit doors during a fire or another emergency. Emergency exits serve to provide an unencumbered route away from danger. No matter the environment, emergency exit routes and designated escape paths must be provided in an emergency.

Date Posted: 02/13/2024

Conflicts on the construction site are a common occurrence. A recent study in the United States revealed that workers spend an average of 2.8 hours a week managing conflicts, translating to approximately $360 billion. Disputes and disagreements will arise when multiple parties, such as general contractors, owners, architects, and subcontractors, work together to complete a project.

Date Posted: 04/21/2020

Creating a respectful workplace is the cornerstone for the success and continued growth of a company. Respectful workplaces create safer jobsites, healthier company cultures and increased productivity.

Date Posted: 09/23/2016

Safety culture is the way in which safety is managed in the workplace, and reflects the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values that employers and employees share in relation to safety. Every organization has a safety culture. The question is whether the safety culture is what we want it to be. If the culture is not what we want it to be, what can we do to change it.

Date Posted: 09/21/2016

Some of the most dangerous situations arise out of common mistakes that can be easily avoided. This Toolbox Talk will focus on some of the more common (and commonly overlooked) safety issues that should be prevented to help improve safety performance.

Date Posted: 09/15/2016

An exit route is a continuous and unobstructed path from any point within a workplace to a place of safety.

Date Posted: 09/14/2016

Using the proper fire extinguisher is extremely important and the use of the wrong type may actually spread the fire. All fire extinguishers have a label to tell you what fires they can extinguish.

Date Posted: 09/14/2016

When workers think of fire prevention, they often think of fire extinguishers and having them close by to prevent a larger fire. When fire prevention is done right, it eliminates the need of a fire extinguisher.

Date Posted: 09/08/2016

Lack of proper housekeeping on the job is one safety hazard common to all construction projects. Good housekeeping is one item that can help improve not only the safety on the job, but also the morale and productivity of the workers.

Date Posted: 09/05/2016

There are many types of mobile equipment, their use depends on the processes involved with the industry.

Date Posted: 09/04/2016

Near miss incidents are situations that did not result in personal injury or property damage but have the potential to do so.

Date Posted: 09/01/2016

Even with the best plans and procedures in place, accidents can still happen. Advanced preparations make all the difference. Before the job starts, it is imperative that you have an emergency plan in place.

Date Posted: 08/28/2016

The use of a cell phone and other similar hand held devices can allow employees to be more available, no matter their physical location. Multi-tasking while using a hand held device is tempting and can prove deadly when combined with operating motorized vehicles and on the job sites. Cell phones and other hand held devices must be used safely. The National Safety Council estimates that 1.6 million crashes are caused by drivers using cell phones and texting each year.

Date Posted: 08/28/2016

In most everything we do, we find a way to make the process go easier and faster. These processes we develop become work habits and are used not only at work but in our everyday activities.

Date Posted: 08/28/2016

Safety Awareness is like almost everything else we do, learned and not instinctive. We aren't born with awareness for safety concerns. . . in fact anyone who has a young child or grandchild knows this as they see them going around doing unsafe things constantly.

Date Posted: 08/27/2016

Do you have nude pictures in your workplace? Tell dirty jokes? Make suggestive remarks to other employees? If you answered yes to any of these questions you may be guilty of sexual harassment. Since enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the development of guidelines by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1980, sexual harassment is considered to be a form of sex discrimination-a Federal offense.

Date Posted: 08/23/2016

Poor site sanitation creates problems. These problems can include contaminated potable water and supplies, spread of germs, unpleasant odors, and uninvited wildlife.

Date Posted: 08/02/2016

Workplace violence causes a significant number of deaths and injuries in Washington and throughout the country. In 2010, workplace violence was the third leading cause of workplace deaths in Washington State.

The following provides preventive measures that can be established at your workplace to deal with threatening, intimidating, and/or potentially violent behavior:

Date Posted: 05/20/2016

Today, workers under the age of 25 account for about 8 percent of the workforce in construction. While that's a relatively small number, young workers are involved in 23 percent of all construction accidents.