OSHA National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

NFC Supports Safety Stand-Down: May 6-10, 2019

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for 366 of the 971 construction fatalities recorded in 2017. Those deaths were preventable. The 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 May 6-10. A Stand-Down could be as simple as a 15-minute toolbox talk or several hours of training over the course of the week.

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 6-10. Then tell OSHA about your Stand-Down and download a certificate of participation after your Stand-Down event. 

To add some fun to this year's festivities, NFC’s marketing committee is introducing some friendly competition. Let staff know you will be participating in this year’s Stand-Down and request t-shirts for your crew. Then take at least one picture of your crew on a jobsite wearing their t-shirts during the week of the Stand-Down and submit it by May 15. Members of the marketing committee will review each picture and select a winner. The winning crew will receive a Yeti cooler. Be original when you take your picture(s) and have a little fun!

Resources

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

• 

  NFC's FrameSAFE program includes 15 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 Holding a Stand-Down: Day by Day 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 in the 2018 Stand-Down:

• 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.