Safety Stand Down Week
Monday, May 6, 2019 Michele Pratt
This Year’s annual Safety Stand-Down is being held from May 6-10, 2019. Why the focus on falls? Fall related deaths are the 2nd leading cause of deaths in the Construction Industry and the 4th leading cause of death in all Private Industry work force related fatalities. The stand-down is part of OSHA's ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign, which was started in 2012 and was developed in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. The campaign provides employers with lifesaving information and educational materials on how to plan ahead to prevent falls, provide the right equipment for their workers and train all employees in the proper use of that equipment.
In 2018, Fall Protection – OSHA standard 29 CFR 1926.501 was the most cited violation and therefore why there is further attention to be paid to it. The OSHA website has some great resources for participation in National Stand Down day. Companies big or small can participate in some type of Stand-Down event. Some communities have events you can join, or if you choose to commemorate this week on your own here are a few ideas to do so:
- Based on the number of employees and logistics; can you hold one event at your office or multiple events at various job sites? Form a committee or a point person to determine the type of meeting/event you would like to hold.
- Give this event its own special time slot so there is proper focus given to it. Provide refreshments, commemorative buttons or black ribbons for employees.
- Review safety procedures related to fall protection; make sure the content is interesting and engaging to hold employee’s interest.
- Utilize your workers’ comments or suggestions to develop your safety talk(s)
- The Safety talk commemorating the Stand-Down could be reading a poem, using data and statistics, a review of fall protection, ladder safety or other preventative training related to falls.
- Continue to emphasize the importance of Safety throughout the year.
.jpg)