OSHA National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

NFC Supports Safety Stand-Down: Sept. 14-18, 2020

Falls are the leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for 320 of the 1,008 construction fatalities recorded in 2018 according to BLS data. Those deaths were preventable. OSHA's National Safety Stand-Down raises fall hazard awareness across the country in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.

What Is a Safety Stand-Down?

A Safety Stand-Down is a voluntary event for employers to talk directly to employees about safety. This Stand-Down focuses on "Fall Hazards" and reinforcing the importance of "Fall Prevention."

Companies can conduct a Safety Stand-Down by taking a break to have a Toolbox Talk or another safety activity such as conducting safety equipment inspections, developing rescue plans, or discussing job specific hazards. Managers are encouraged to plan a stand-down that works best for their workplace anytime during the week of September 14-18. A Stand-Down could be as simple as a 15-minute toolbox talk or several hours of training over the course of the week. (Get some ideas.)

The Stand-Down is free and you do not have to register to participate. Simply hold a Stand-Down with your employees during the week of May 4-8. Then tell OSHA about your Stand-Down and download a certificate of participation after your Stand-Down event. Also share your Stand-Down story on social media, with the hashtag: #StandDown4Safety. 

Resources

If you are looking for ideas for your company's Stand-Down, consider the following:

• 

  NFC's FrameSAFE program includes 16 Toolbox Talks on the topic of fall protection and fall safety. Subscribe today and receive a whole library of Toolbox Talks, Safety Posters and a site-specific fall protection plan template to compliment the full bilingual FrameSAFE safety manual.

• Download one of OSHA's Stand-Down posters to inform your employees of the upcoming safety focus (English | Spanish). Other resources are also available on OSHA’s Fall Prevention Resources page. 
• Read OSHA's Suggestions to Prepare for a Successful Stand-Down and Highlights from the Past Stand-Downs. OSHA also hosts an Events page with events that are free and open to the public to help employers and employees find events in your area.
• Check out the One-Stop Stand-Down Shop for a variety of resources in one location. Consider using the 5-Day Stand-Down Plan as a guideline for how to develop a plan for the week.
• Fall Risk Infographics from OSHA/NIOSH/CPWR
• Fall Fatality Maps and Hard Hat Stickers from CPWR
• State Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Reports from NIOSH
• Video on importance of proper selection and use of personal fall protection systems for leading edge work.
• Shared experiences – tell your own story about fall safety or share about what you’ve seen on jobsites that raised your level of fall prevention awareness

Past Stand-Downs

Read about NFC participation over the past several years:

• NFC Photo Contest Drives Safety Awareness During Stand-Down
• Framers Emphasize Stand-Down Because Falls Can Be Fatal
• A Coordinated Effort to Focus on Safety
• Framer Takes a Break and Discusses Safety During Stand-Downs
• Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls May 7-11

NFC members participating in the 2017 Stand-Down took the opportunity to reinforce fall protection safety with their employees using straightforward training materials from the FrameSAFE safety program:

If you took a photo of your group during the 2017 Stand-Down, please email it to NFC staff so we can include it here.