OSHA National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

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

Safety pays. Falls cost. 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 370 of the 991 construction fatalities recorded in 2016. Fall prevention safety standards were once again among the top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards, during fiscal year 2015.

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. 

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 CPWR-NIOSH
• Fall Fatality Maps from CPWR
• State Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Reports from NIOSH
• 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

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.