5th year – National Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Photo credit: Turner Construction/Earl Dotter/CPWR
Construction contractors can prevent falls from heights. Plan ahead for safety, provide the right equipment, and train workers to use the equipment safely. Join the National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction and take part in the National Stand-Down.
In 2016, there were 370 fall fatalities out of 991 total fatalities in construction. Those deaths were preventable. There were more fatal injuries in construction than any other industry in the United States in 2015, accounting for 20% of the nation’s 4,836 work-related deaths that year. In 2015 alone, 57% of construction deaths occurred in establishments with fewer than 20 employees. Falls account for 37% of the work-related deaths suffered by construction workers. Almost two-thirds of those fatal falls were from roofs, scaffolds, and ladders.
The National Campaign
This National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction was launched on April 26, 2012. The Campaign encourages everyone in the construction industry to work safely and use the right equipment to reduce falls. 2018 marks the 5th year of the National Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. This year we are asking employers to join our ongoing campaign and participate in the National Safety Stand-Down during the week of May 7-11. Set aside time during that week to have an open discussion with your employees about falls and how to prevent them.
Safety Pays. Falls Cost.
The best in the business play it safe. Construction contractors can prevent falls from heights on their worksites.
- Plan ahead to do the job safely before starting each and every job.
- Provide the right equipment for working at heights.
- Training workers to use the equipment properly and to work safely on roofs, ladders, and scaffolds.
Watch our playlist of videos that gives insight into fall safety in the construction industry through many perspectives, from owner to safety man, to worker.
Prevent Falls and Stand-Down!
Here is what you can do to get started and prevent falls. Start with visiting stopconstructionfalls.com for posters, training materials, and more information about how to be a partner in the campaign.
In 2016: NIOSH, and CPWR worked together to develop a new series of infographics that focus on preventing construction falls, the leading cause of fatalities in construction by raising awareness of the risk and providing steps to prevent falls. View and download the infographics available both in English and Spanish as PDFs or JPEGs for use in social media, presentations, and print materials. NIOSH and CPWR are working together to develop new infographics for 2018 and will post those to the same site when they are available. Ideas to get started:
- Display the 2018 National Stand Down posters in English[PDF – 3 MB] or Spanish[PDF – 2 MB]
- Check your ladder – NIOSH Ladder Safety App.
- Get the word out! Put a campaign link on your website, an announcement in your newsletter, a post on your social media account including #StandDown4Safety. Follow @NIOSHConstruct on Twitter and re-tweet the latest campaign news.
- View and download infographics as PDFs or JPEGs for use in social media, presentations, and print materials.
- Produce and distribute campaign materials: learn how “How-to Guide for Building a Local” Campaign[564 KB]
- Reach out to new partners including government, labor, and industry.
- Seek new ways to reach those most disproportionately at risk, small residential contractors.
- Assist with evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign.
- When employers join the campaign, we will …
- Help you produce campaign-branded materials
- Help you plan campaign-related events
- Connect you with other campaign partners in your region
- List your organization on the stopconstructionfalls.com website
- About the campaign
- NIOSH Construction Portal
- About the National Construction Center
- About work-related falls research
- About the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) and to read the Construction Research Agenda
- About the NORA Construction Sector Council
- NIOSH Science Blog The National Safety Stand-Down: Why Falls Remain a Deadly Problem in the Construction Sector and What We Can Do About It (May 8, 2017)
- MMWR Announcement: National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction — United States (April 28, 2017)