Category: Construction

Back to Basics: Contractor and Temporary Worker Safety

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine contractor and temporary worker safety. Many workplaces are staffed by workers with different employers—a host company, contractors, and staffing agencies. If you own or operate a facility, you have complete responsibility for […]

OSHA Enforcement Roundup Q4 2024

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues to carry out inspections and issue citations to employers that expose workers to hazardous conditions. We’ve summarized some of the key enforcement cases from the past few months for a look at where OSHA is focusing its efforts. Roofing contractor faces $328K in fines A Newark construction […]

Infographic: Working On or Near Water

There are many risks to consider when working on a job near water. Here’s what you need to know about worker safety around water.

Newark Roofer Facing $328K OSHA Fine for Fall Hazards

RRC Home Improvement Inc., a Newark, New Jersey, roofer, is facing $328,545 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for exposing employees to falls from elevations at three North Jersey worksites, the agency announced December 10. OSHA cited RRC Home Improvement with four willful and seven serious violations following the three inspections. Since 2017, OSHA […]

OSHA Releases Final Rule for PPE in Construction

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on December 11 that its Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) finalized a revision to the personal protective equipment (PPE) rule for construction. The rule requires that PPE must properly fit any construction worker who needs it to improve protections from hazardous conditions. You can read the final rule […]

Florida Contractors Face Six-Figure OSHA Fines in Trenching Violations

Two Florida contractors face six-figure Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for willfully exposing workers at sites in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach to trench and excavation collapses and cave-ins, the agency announced December 5. Masci General Contractor is facing $216,633 in proposed penalties after agency inspectors witnessed workers installing a sewer line in a […]

Back to Basics: A Look at Construction’s ‘Fatal Four’ Safety Hazards

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine the most dangerous construction safety hazards. Are you familiar with the construction industry’s deadliest safety hazards? The “fatal four” or “focus four” safety hazards are caught-in/-between hazards, electrocution, falls, and struck-by […]

OSHA Encouraged by Decline in Death Investigations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated 826 worker deaths in fiscal year (FY) 2024—an 11% reduction from 928 in the previous year, the agency announced November 4. FY 2024 ended September 30. The agency noted significant decreases in the number of fatal injuries from trench collapses and falls, two of the leading causes […]

ASSP Revises Construction and Demolition Planning Standard

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has updated a key national voluntary consensus standard for construction and demolition sites, which are among the most hazardous work environments. The revised standard is helping to elevate World Standards Week, an event held Nov. 12-14 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to promote best practices in […]