OSHA Takes Broom to the Southeastern Construction System
Without prior notice, OSHA will conduct one "Swept Up in Safety Week" during each quarter of this calendar year. These weeks are aimed at reducing an upward trend in construction-related fatalities in the Southeast, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. OSHA compliance officers will focus enforcement efforts on construction sites throughout the region.
The "Swept Up in Safety Week" series is intended to identify and fix safety hazards, thereby reducing exposure to the four leading causes of employee fatalities in the Southeast:
- Falls,
- Struck-by objects and vehicles,
- crushing, and
- electrocutions.
OSHA says its compliance officers also will stop by construction sites when they happen to see conditions that are "in compliance" in an effort to recognize and further encourage the safe behaviors of those employers.