Midwest Construction Work Paused for Falls Stand-Down
OSHA worked with more than 300 employers and labor organizations on the Sept. 3 stand-down at building sites in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
Construction workers throughout the four states in OSHA’s Region 7 -- Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska -- paused at 11 a.m. Sept. 3 for a safety stand-down focused on preventing construction falls. OSHA partnered with more than 300 employers and labor organizations on it.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported preliminary numbers for 2012 fatal occupational injuries on Aug. 22. Its report said fatal work injuries in the private construction sector increased by 5 percent to 775 in 2012, from 738 in 2011. BLS reported falls, slips, or trips killed 668 workers in 2012, down slightly from the number of deaths caused by those factors in 2011.
Marcia Drumm, OSHA's acting regional administrator in Kansas City, said the regional stand-down "underscores the imperative need to identify and address fall safety hazards. Fall hazards are preventable and lives can be saved with three simple steps: plan, provide and train," she added.