Safety Matters - Construction Safety and Health Update
Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP)
Top News

In yesterday's issue of Safety Matters, there was a typo in the subject line of the email. The name of AGC member firm Tellepsen was mispelled. We apologize for this oversight and have corrected the error.

  
 
Over 200 construction workers from dozens of companies, and their families, received their first COVID-19 vaccination free of charge at a clinic hosted by Tellepsen, AGC Houston and AGC of America. The vaccine clinic is part of a nationwide construction industry vaccination push being organized by the association to protect workers and local communities from the coronavirus.
 
AGC encourages other firms to participate in this initiative and help the industry do its part in vaccinating as many adults as possible before July 4. Watch video here.
 
 
  
AGC is partnering with Dodge Data & Analytics on a new study on jobsite safety, and your participation is vital to its success. The purpose is to track trends in safety practices in the U.S. construction industry.
 
This survey should take approximately 12 minutes to complete. In return for qualifying for, completing and submitting the survey, you will have the option to have a summary report of the survey findings emailed to you.
 
To take the survey, please click on this link.
 
Your answers are strictly confidential and will not be associated with your name or the name of your company in any way. Your answers will be combined with others and only presented as averages or percentages, or by visual means that cannot be linked back to individual answers. Your answers are stored in a password protected database that can only be accessed by analysts at Dodge Data & Analytics. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary.
  
September 21-23, Orlando, FL

The AGC Annual Convention provides contractors of all sizes the opportunity to gain business-critical insights into the issues most affecting their operations. From risk management to safety on the jobsite to the latest in project management solutions, AGC brings together experts from across the industry to share their knowledge and help prepare contractors to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Register by June 16 and save $150.00 off admission. For details visit http://convention.agc.org.
  
Registration is now open for the 2021 Construction Safety, Health & Environmental Virtual Conference!

Join us July 20-22, 2021, from wherever you are knowing that you can look forward to the same high-quality content you expect from an AGC in-person conference. Check out our agenda for more details on sessions, speakers, and networking opportunities. We look forward to seeing you in person for the 2022 Construction Safety, Health & Environmental Conference, taking place July 26-28 in Washington, D.C.
   
WFB Inspection & Consulting CO
      
McGriff, Seibels & Williams
   
Regulatory & Legislative Updates
In April, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued updated COVID-19 FAQs related to contractor vaccine policies. The FAQs established that when vaccination is mandated by employers, adverse reactions related to employees receiving the vaccine are a recordable injury/illness, and, in some cases, may be recordable even when contractors only recommend, or encourage, employees receive the vaccine (for background, click here). On May 12, AGC put forth its concerns to OSHA. On May 21, OSHA issued a single FAQ stating that “DOL and OSHA, as well as other federal agencies, are working diligently to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. OSHA does not wish to have any appearance of discouraging workers from receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and also does not wish to disincentivize employers’ vaccination efforts. 
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has posted updated and expanded technical assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing questions arising under the federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws. The EEOC also posted a new resource for job applicants and employees, explaining how federal employment discrimination laws protect workers during the pandemic. These publications are provided to help employees and employers understand their rights and responsibilities at work during the pandemic.
Procore
Events
  
National Safety Month is an annual observance to help keep each other safe from the workplace to anyplace. Organized by the National Safety Council (NSC), this year marks the 25th anniversary of National Safety Month. Click HERE to access all the information you need to make your safety month activities a success.
  
The mission of National Forklift Safety Day is to gather key experts and stakeholders to focus on enhancing the safety of forklift operators and those who work around forklifts.
It’s an opportunity to emphasize the critical importance of operator training, to promote greater pedestrian awareness, and to share resources about safe practices in the industries that use this indispensable material-handling equipment.
  
October 25 – 27, 2021 | Albuquerque, NM 
Early-bird Registration Rate: $895 (until 06/30/2021) 
Standard Registration Rate: $995 (after 06/30/2021) 

The AGC Safety Management Training Course (SMTC) provides attendees three days of training on the basic skills needed to manage a company safety program in the construction industry. Held just a few times per year at select locations around the country, the SMTC program builds on focus four training and prepares attendees to manage key safety issues on the job site and provides techniques for delivering basic safety training to field personnel. Participants will receive intensive instruction and training that will allow them to return to their firms with readily applicable new skills to positively impact their company’s safety and health program.
Zero losses. Zero defects. Zero injuries.
MindForge®
In 2021, we're pursuing zero: zero losses, zero defects, zero injuries and zero lives lost. MindForge allows you to establish a communication network with your field team and put just-in-time information and education in the palm of their hand. Connect with us to learn how to keep your team engaged, productive and safe this year.
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Advertisement
   
Cervelliere Limited
   
Safety Cabinet
Sixty percent of highway contractors report that motor vehicles had crashed into their construction work zones during the past year, putting motorists and workers at risk, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by AGC of America and HCSS. In response, officials urged drivers to slow down and remain alert while passing through work zones during the summer driving season.
  
This handy 29 CFR 1926 volume is made with RegLogic®, which takes the difficulty out of reading and using government regulations. You can use the book's Quick-Find Index™ to quickly access the information you need. Included you will find the 1903 regulations on inspections, citations, and proposed penalties; the 1904 regulations on recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses; pertinent 1910 general industry regulations; and every 1926 construction industry regulation. Updated through Jan. 2011.
Best Practices
  
Expanding hospital bed capacity in Washington DC in response to COVID-19 

443 beds. A hospital-grade liquid oxygen farm. Industrial HEPA filtration. A rapid treatment center, a pharmacy, a laboratory. Building a makeshift hospital is no easy task, and these are just a few of the many features that engineers must often design for. Finishing the job on time in the thick of a pandemic, no less, is another kind of challenge altogether. But federal and local agencies did exactly that in Washington, D.C. at the outset of COVID-19, creating the city’s third largest hospital in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center — and they got it done in just 17 days. 
BY ADAM JACHIMOWICZ 
  
Trench and excavation operations are among the most dangerous jobs in the construction and utility industries. While most trench fatalities happen in unprotected trenches, studies estimate that 24 percent occur when sloping, benching, shielding or shoring is used improperly. In these tragic incidents, OSHA tables and charts for sloping, benching, timber shoring or manufactured systems with tabulated data using shields or shoring are not being followed. 
PROVIDED BY UNITED RENTALS 
AN AGC OF AMERICA CAPSTONE SUPPORTER