Construction

Washington — OSHA is delaying enforcement on all of its beryllium standards until May 11, the agency has announced.

Silver Spring, MD — Caught-in or caught-between incidents resulted in 275 construction worker deaths from 2011 to 2015 – the most of any major industry – according to a recent report from the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).

Chicago — Opioid-related overdoses claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 Midwest construction workers in 2015 – part of an opioid crisis that cost the region’s industry more than $5 billion in health care expenses and lost time and production, according to a recent report from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute.

Lexington, KY — In response to an uptick in trench-related deaths among construction workers, the Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program has released a hazard alert warning of the dangers of trench work.

New York — Construction worker fatalities continue to rise in New York state amid rampant safety violations, according to an annual report released by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, an advocacy group.

New York — Contractors in the construction industry are increasing their use of emerging technologies to enhance safety, and further growth is likely, results of a recent survey show.

Washington — The National Cooperative Highway Research Program has released a guidebook that “provides practitioners who develop phasing and staging plans for temporary traffic control through work zones with guidance to evaluate the safety impacts of their plan decisions.”

Silver Spring, MD — A recently created database allowed researchers to determine that, in a 33-year period, falls accounted for nearly half of all construction worker deaths – and more than half of the workers killed lacked access to fall protection – according to the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).

The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upholds the lower permissible exposure limit in OSHA’s updated silica rule. Supporters of the rule call the court’s decision a “huge victory” for workers, while opponents say it disregards “legitimate concerns.”

If you’re not giving much thought to how you choose hand tools, you should. That’s the message the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR), via its choosehandsafety.org website, wants you to keep in mind.