'Swept Up in Safety Weeks' to Occur Over Next 12 Months
OSHA recently announced that it will conduct a no-notice "Swept Up in Safety Weeks" during its fiscal year 2008 campaign to curb construction-related fatalities in the Southeast.
In the past, OSHA says, such unannounced safety weeks have been successful in reducing construction-related fatalities in the Southeast. OSHA compliance officers will continue to focus their enforcement efforts on construction sites in the region, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
OSHA's field activities will be specifically targeted toward identifying and eliminating safety and health hazards at construction sites, thereby reducing the numbers of injuries and fatalities resulting from the four leading causes of accidents: falls, struck-by/crushing events, electrocutions, and caught-in-between events. During last year's campaign period, agency compliance officers conducted immediate inspections when unsafe working conditions were observed at construction sites. Compliance officers also entered worksites to provide outreach and training and to encourage employers to continue their good work.
"OSHA's goal this year is to continue increasing employers' awareness about eliminating hazards that lead to employee fatalities," said Cindy Coe, OSHA's regional administrator in Atlanta. "The increased presence of our field compliance officers and conducting immediate inspections when they observed unsafe scaffolds, fall risks, trenches and other construction hazards led to a reduction in worksite fatalities."