Category: Hazards

January 19, 2023

For the eighth time since 2016, federal safety inspectors found the owner of a Martin, Ohio roofing company exposed roofers and other workers to the construction industry’s leading cause of death – falls from elevation – by failing to provide […]

December 22, 2022

Road work zones are hazardous. Workers and flaggers who build and protect our roadways are not the only ones at risk. Many motorists and pedestrians also die in accidents involving temporary work zones each year. With speed limits creeping upward […]

November 16, 2022

Construction work remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States in 2022. Potential hazards abound, from falling objects to dangers involving footing, balance, and the inability to adequately see and hear. Most job sites are replete with […]

October 27, 2022

Sleep is a vital part of the day and when you add in heavy machinery operation, the need is even more pronounced. Many construction crews and engineers work on-call or extend their shifts longer than eight hours. While these workers […]

October 27, 2022

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) has introduced a State Emphasis Program to help identify and reduce exposures to indoor and outdoor heat-related hazards in the workplace. “Whether you’re working indoors or outdoors, hot and humid conditions can […]

October 13, 2022

We’ve compiled the list of Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards for Construction for fiscal year 2022 (October 2021 through September 2022). Each year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration releases the Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards from the […]

October 6, 2022

Across the U.S, there are nearly 10 million people working in almost 3.8 million construction businesses daily. Although their work is essential to keep the economy thriving, their tasks come with certain hazards. They often work under unfavorable weather conditions, […]

October 3, 2022

Refugio Alvarez. Eric Buschard. Rebecca Klein. Aaron Boggs. Four safety and health professionals from across the country who share a common bond: all enthusiastically use a free safety climate assessment and improvement tool created by CPWR – The Center for […]

September 23, 2022

It’s paramount to know the exact temperature on your jobsite to protect workers in hot conditions. At higher temperatures, a change of even a few degrees can be a warning sign that you need to alter their workday activities to […]

September 21, 2022

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday its preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2022. NSC Safety+Health Associate Editor Kevin Druley introduced Patrick Kapust, acting director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, who […]

September 21, 2022

When Hensel Phelps chief innovation officer Thai Nguyen discusses the use of technology to improve jobsite safety with workers, he’s always careful to emphasize why it’s important and specifically what is being monitored. “We really reassure them that the monitoring […]

September 6, 2022

Construction workers often face some of their industry’s most serious dangers – such as falls from elevation, being struck or crushed by equipment or other objects, and electrocution – but recent studies suggest another occupational concern is lurking silently at […]

August 29, 2022

In response to requests from interested parties, federal labor officials have extended the deadline to comment on its proposed revisions for the workplace lead-exposure standard by two months. It is now Oct. 28. The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety […]

August 17, 2022

As Hensel Phelps looks for better ways to improve on all things safety, the multinational contractor is piloting technology solutions like Edify, an app designed to create safety-minded culture within construction companies. Every morning, Hensel Phelps workers log in and […]

July 28, 2022

On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, United States legislators, labor leaders, PPE manufacturers, and safety experts met at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. to advocate for heat safety and the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act. […]

July 26, 2022

At the moment, it’s not clear what kind of impact the legislation would have for contractors. “We would have to consult with our members to see what, if any, impact this [legislation] would have,” said Kevin Cannon, senior director of […]

July 21, 2022

OSHA has long had the ability to seek criminal referrals and issue heavy fines for workplace incidents that involve serious injury or death. Last week, it flexed that muscle. In response to what the Department of Labor organization called an […]

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 […]