Focus on Falls this Week During National Safety Month

The National Safety Council organizes National Safety Month every June as a reminder to businesses to focus on safety policies and procedures. Each week brings a new focus for jobsites.

This week’s focus is slips, trips and falls. Fatalities caused by falls on jobsites continue to be the leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 378 of the 986 construction fatalities recorded in 2021. Those deaths were preventable with the proper training, jobsite requirements and equipment.

Use this week to review your safety policies designed to prevent falls and the procedures workers use to implement them. If you are confident in your policies, hold a stand down to discuss fall safety.

To help construction businesses address fall safety, NAHB has developed a free, four-hour online course on fall prevention for home builders, remodelers, trade contractors, supervisors and workers. The course covers the correct procedures and equipment usage and even provides examples of incorrect applications of fall protection. It’s available now in English and Spanish.

NAHB and OSHA have numerous other resources available to help home builders create and enforce safety plans for fall prevention:

• NAHB Fall Protection Video Toolbox Talk (English and Spanish)
• NAHB Roofing Safety Video Toolbox Talk (English and Spanish)
• NAHB Ladder Safety Video Toolbox Talk (English and Spanish)
• NAHB Fall Protection Toolkit
• OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

To avoid slips and trips, home builders and remodelers should focus on housekeeping to remove tripping and other hazards. See NAHB’s video toolbox talk on housekeeping for more.

Jobsite safety is a choice. Protect your workers and your investment by making the right choice.