Category: Hazards

July 21, 2022

Safety hazards are so common in the construction industry that it can be easy to overlook some of their severity. As a standard part of virtually every project, foundation work may not stand out to crews as particularly risky — […]

July 20, 2022

As temperatures and the risk of heat illness rise in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminds employers and workers not to ignore the dangers of working in hot weather – […]

July 19, 2022

While most recent thinking on safety is based on ideas generally known as human and organizational performance—where it is assumed workers will make errors and the emphasis is on the work environment and processes to prevent severe injuries—real problems stand […]

July 18, 2022

OSHA is in the process of developing a federal standard to protect workers from exposure to dangerous heat conditions, which it currently doesn’t have. That — combined with summer weather and heat waves sweeping many parts of the country — […]

July 15, 2022

OSHA highlighted a June 28 incident as an impetus for its decision. In Jarrell, Texas, two workers, aged 20 and 39, died when the 20-foot trench they worked in collapsed on them. Shields to reinforce their trench could have saved […]

June 22, 2022

Due to lack of power during the initial stages of construction projects, some sites rely on air horns as an evacuation method on construction sites, but it’s not without drawbacks. Sean Ryan, environmental health safety manager at Turner Construction, said […]

May 31, 2022

San Antonio-based oil refining giant Valero Energy Corp. and three contractors working at its San Francisco Bay-area refinery face combined fines totaling more than $1.75 million for multiple state safety violations—including a number of willful and serious infractions—which ed to […]

May 25, 2022

Every spring, as the days get warmer and the weather gets consistently drier, the construction industry ramps up their projects and construction season officially begins. And with the onset of various projects between infrastructure, specialized industrial, institutional or commercial construction, […]

May 12, 2022

Construction managers don’t have a silver bullet approach at their disposal to prevent onsite falls. Instead, protective gear needs to fit the unique scenarios and structural considerations for each specific jobsite, according to speakers at a recent webinar hosted by […]

May 9, 2022

Construction has a massive safety problem — and it’s costing firms untold losses in injuries, workers’ compensation and lost productivity. In fact, the cost of all construction injuries in the United States in 2019 was $171 billion according to the […]

April 29, 2022

The summer travel is starting soon, which means there will be more cars on Georgia highways. Along with the increase in traffic, there are several big construction projects happening, including the 1-95 and I-16 interchange. The Georgia Department of Transportation […]

April 27, 2022

According to the LAO report, California faces five major hazards resulting from climate change: Higher temperatures and extreme heat. More frequent and intense drought. Increased flood risk. Worsening wildfires. Coastal flooding and erosion. It suggests that taking preemptive steps to […]

April 19, 2022

A federal investigation into how a 47-year-old carpenter was fatally injured on Oct. 6, 2021, at the Pinellas Gateway Express project in Clearwater, Florida found his employer violated safety standards by allowing workers to remain in a crane load’s danger […]

April 14, 2022

Between 2011 and 2019, 344 people died from work-related heat exposure, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Roughly 42%, or 144, of those fatalities were of workers in construction, repair or cleaning. Between 2015 and 2020, […]

March 31, 2022

Twenty-two million workers are exposed to hazardous occupational noise each year, a figure nearly equivalent to the population of Florida. To reduce noise hazards and protect workers’ hearing, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Kansas City […]

March 11, 2022

What are heat resistant gloves made of? This is a common question among many. Some might be rookies handling molding, casting, or forging. They might look for a good protective piece to equip themselves for their first tasks. Others might […]

March 3, 2022

Exposure to some of these metals, such as arsenic, occur near or in hazardous waste sites or areas with naturally high levels in soil, rocks and water, according to OSHA. Others, like chromium, are used explicitly in construction, and OSHA […]

February 3, 2022

Just the term “incident investigation” can sometimes make employees nervous or hesitant to participate in important safety assessments. Nevertheless, getting to the bottom of a construction site incident is the best way to prevent similar situations in the future. Companies […]

November 11, 2021

Walter Visage was in a car down at street level outside the Pittsburgh manufacturing building used by W.W. Paterson, a manufacturer of towing and lifting equipment, when he spotted someone on the roof. It was 8 a.m. on Jan. 9, […]

October 25, 2021

Construction sites are dangerous places. Safety hazards lurk around every corner. This is evident by the high rate of occupational fatalities and injuries that occur each year in construction. Falls, electrocutions, heavy equipment rollovers, and collapsing scaffolding are just a […]