Building an effective safety program can yield important benefits for construction companies. At the top of the list is the most important result – the ability to reduce employee injuries and illnesses. This is a crucial benefit because keeping workers healthy can build employee morale and retention while helping to minimize workers’ compensation claims and costs.

The typical manufacturing workplace is a flurry of activity with many workers performing different operations simultaneously. One of the easiest ways to keep this activity running smoothly and with high levels of safety and efficiency is to practice good workplace housekeeping. The three tips below are best practices to consistently promote in the workplace.

The first step to any digging project is pretty simple – know what’s buried underground! This applies to contractors, road maintenance crews, telephone pole installers, fence builders, landscapers and even homeowners. In fact, anyone breaking ground should fully understand the safe digging tips outlined in this blog.

Grounding a tool or electrical system involves creating a low-resistance electrical path that connects to the earth. A ground-fault occurs in a tool or electrical system when there is a break in this low-resistance grounding path. The electrical current may then take an alternative path to the ground through the user, resulting in serious injuries or death.

Employers across the country are struggling to attract and retain quality workers. This is certainly true with respect to the construction industry, which expects continued growth into 2023 and beyond. The purpose of this blog is to highlight new employment research, outline factors contributing to today’s worker shortage, and offer important tips to help employers attract and retain skilled workers.

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous in the United States. In fact, every time you come to work, you risk suffering an injury. However, you can help improve construction site safety by learning about and avoiding the top four on-the-job hazards, which are: falls, struck-bys, caught-in-between hazards and electrocutions.

Construction workers utilize a wide range of tools that are essential for getting the job done. But there’s no tool more indispensable to the trade than a worker’s hands. For this edition of Construction Safety Matters, we’ve developed a list of precautions you can share with your workers to help safeguard their hands from on-the-job injury—and keep them in peak working condition.

While a crane is an essential asset, there are hazards involving all aspects of crane use on a construction site. The purpose of this blog is to provide construction companies with safety tips and guidance to help facilitate safe crane operation.

It’s no secret construction sites and on-the-job safety go hand-in-hand. Yet, the fact that falls are among the most reported construction site injuries may come as a surprise —especially when you consider these types of accidents can often be avoided.

When it comes to keeping a workplace safe and OSHA compliant, it’s difficult to overstate the importance of guardrails. In fact, according to OSHA, falls from elevation account for the majority of fatalities within the construction industry – with over 300 fatal falls occurring each year. Yet, failure to provide fall protection in the form of guardrails is among the most-cited OSHA violations on an annual basis.

Struck-by vehicle hazards are commonplace on most if not all construction sites. For example, picture this scenario: A contractor is operating a backhoe when an employee attempts to walk between the swinging superstructure of the backhoe and a concrete wall. As the employee approaches from the operator’s blind side, the backhoe’s superstructure swings in the same direction. This seemingly routine action ends with the employee being struck, resulting in life-threatening injuries.

The value of a comprehensive safety culture cannot be overstated when it comes to reducing workplace illnesses and injuries, and their associated costs. But creating such a culture is not an overnight process or “flavor of the month” program. Instead, it is a multi-year, top-management commitment that results in an organization with low accident rates, low turnover, low absenteeism and high productivity. This is a big-picture, long-term project.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading contributor to sick days is back pain, which costs businesses in both workers and productivity. In fact, a recent CDC study revealed back injuries cost employers $1,685 per employee every year. On a national level, this equates losses north of $225 billion annually.

Working near power lines is serious business for construction workers. Each year, workers are needlessly hurt on the job because they fail to use caution when digging in the vicinity of power lines. Electricity – whether above-ground or underground – is a powerful force, and using caution is the best way to avoid injury or death.

When conducting road construction or repair work, it’s up to roadside workers to protect the public and themselves from dangerous accidents. Unfortunately, when a motorist is confused, distracted or driving recklessly, a roadside construction zone has the potential to become deadly.

In today’s business environment, safety-related costs can be the difference between reporting a profit or a loss. In fact, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplaces that establish safety and health management systems can reduce their injury and illness costs by 20 to 40 percent. An effective safety program can also improve productivity and increase employee morale on the road.