OSHA Announces New Dates for National Safety-Stand Down Initiative
The 7th Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls was postponed earlier this year with no tentative reschedule date—that is, until now.
The coronavirus pandemic put the 7th Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls on hold earlier this year with a reschedule date named for "later this summer." OSHA has now announced the new dates for this initiative are September 14 - 18, 2020.
The National Safety Stand-Down is part of OSHA's fall prevention campaign, and was developed in partnership with NIOSH, the National Occupational Research Agenda, and The Center for Construction Research and Training. OSHA has partnered with several organizations to encourage employers to provide safety demonstrations on fall protection equipment, conduct talks regarding fall-related hazards, safety policies, goals and regulations, and promote the event by using #StandDown4Safety on social media.
"This national initiative brings much needed attention to falls, which continue to be the leading cause of fatalities in construction," Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Loren Sweatt said in a press release. "Since OSHA began doing fall prevention stand-down events six years ago, nearly 10 million workers have been reached by our message that falls are preventable. These efforts have been successful in raising awareness of the recognition, evaluation, and control of fall hazards."
Resources for those looking to participate in the stand-down can be found at OSHA's Fall Prevention Stand-Down website: https://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/. Included in these resources are a brief five-minute video entitled, "5 Ways to Prevent Workplace Falls," a series of fall prevention publications, OSHA's Fall Prevention Training Guide and guidance on ladder and scaffolding safety.
Employers are encouraged to promote fall safety virtually or while employing social practices among small groups due to the COVID-19 pandemic.