Construction

Silver Spring, MD — As the use of solar energy panels continues to increase, Prevention through Design methods may help keep contractors safe during installation of the panels on small residential buildings, according to a recent report from the Center for Construction Research and Training, also known as CPWR.

Washington – OSHA is delaying its crane operator certification requirements by one year, publishing a final rule in the Nov. 9 Federal Register – just one day before the regulation was set to go into effect.

Silver Spring, MD – Eighty-two construction workers died from electrocution in 2015, a number the Center for Construction Research and Training – also known as CPWR – calls “unacceptably high” despite a 39 percent reduction in construction industry electrocution deaths since 2003.

Atlanta – Workers in smaller organizations and in certain industries are screened for cancer less frequently than other groups, according to a recent study from the American Cancer Society.

Washington – Although tobacco use continues to decrease among working adults overall, a significant number of workers in the construction, mining, and transportation and warehousing industries still use some form of tobacco product, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington – Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) has introduced legislation intended to protect employees of companies that perform work for the federal government.

Washington – OSHA has released interim enforcement guidance for its Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard (1926.1153), which is set to be enforced in full on Oct. 23.

Washington – The Transportation Research Board recently published a series of videos highlighting a National Cooperative Highway Research Program analysis of highway worker safety.

Philadelphia – Staffing agencies that hire temporary workers need to be regulated more vigorously, and employers that use those agencies should carry a heavier load of responsibility for workers’ safety, a trio of Temple University law students concluded in a recent report examining how staffing agencies and host employers may “pass the buck” to get around proper safety training and other requirements.

New York – The New York City Council, after eight months of bill editing, on Sept. 27 unanimously approved legislation establishing construction safety training requirements and programming.