Every week is Safety Week in construction

Every year, more than 80,000 workers suffer injuries on construction job sites across the United States. They even happen right here in San Diego County. We work hard to keep accidents to a minimum — any incident is one too many — by making safety our No. 1 focus in the construction industry.

There is also the potential for exposure to dangerous substances such as asbestos and caustic chemicals. Appropriate safety measures are absolutely imperative at every step for every worker. ABC’s instructors emphasize prevention of the “Fatal Four” types of incidents that make up most workplace accidents: falls, being caught in or in between hazards, being struck by something such as machinery, and electrocution.

As a construction industry professional, I take safety, and especially safety training, very seriously. We want everyone to go home safe from the worksite, every day. When someone is hurt or killed, families are impacted; these people are not only co-workers, but friends.

While we wholeheartedly support and applaud calling attention to safety issues and accident prevention in the construction industry during this Safety Week effort, it takes more than one week out of the year to keep our construction professionals safe. It must be integrated and ingrained in everything we do, day in and day out.

Safety involves an attentive mindset. Our apprentices and trainees focus on safety from the minute they begin their training program. They spend most of their first semester learning a wide array of safety measures: the safe use of tools, fall protection, proper rigging, the correct use of lifts and scaffolding, and OSHA 10 certification.

In addition to craft-oriented safety measures, we educate our workers about distracted driving, which can put individuals and their employers at huge risk of accidents. We work with the California Highway Patrol to present ongoing seminars to remind all our members, even if their only driving involves commuting to and from the worksite. STEP is a safety self-audit and awards program for contractors. The program evaluates applications based on safety performance and the applicant’s score on 20 key components. Participants can earn bronze, silver, gold or platinum status.

But safety training is never finished. ABC’s commitment to training extends to our ongoing advanced education for professionals, reinforcing and upgrading safety training on a continuous basis.

As part of our ongoing safety program, ABC members can put themselves to the ultimate test by participating in the Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP).

In addition, by participating in the STEP program, ABC member companies become eligible to apply for Accredited Quality Contractor status, and STEP Platinum recipients are eligible to apply for the prestigious National Safety Excellence Award presented annually at the Excellence in Construction Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

ABC member companies that participate in STEP receive 70 percent fewer citations per inspection and have an overall fatality rate that is 59 percent lower than the national Bureau of Labor Statistics average for the construction industry. STEP participants also have a 41 percent lower incidence rate than the national average for construction. The members of the Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego understand being safe every day on every job site crosses competitive boundaries. That's why our members have banded together as part of the Construction Industry Safety Group to create and celebrate the second U.S. Industry Safety Week, running this year from Sunday, May 3 to Saturday, May 9.

Because of the nature of construction work — including operating powerful machinery, physical exertion, or working on building frames at extreme heights — construction workers are exposed to potentially serious accidents such as falls, mechanical accidents, being struck or crushed by heavy equipment, and electrocution.

What’s the outcome of all these efforts? According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration, workplace fatalities have been reduced by more than 65 percent and occupational injury and illness rates have declined by 67 percent since 1970.

Most construction accidents are preventable with training, but consistent training is a must.

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