National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls

Every year OSHA conducts a Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls. This year, it’s May 8 through 12, 2017, presenting a perfect opportunity for employers and employees to take the time and talk about fall prevention and fall protection in the workplace together.

What is a Safety Stand-Down?

A safety stand-down is defined as a voluntary event for employers to talk directly to all or nearly all employees about a specific topic important to the organization, its employees and activities. Its purpose is to share a uniform safety message. The best time to have a safety stand-down is before an incident happens.

To conduct a safety stand-down, stop work and provide a focused toolbox talk or tailgate safety meeting on a specific topic such as ladder safety, fall protection equipment, scaffold safety, hazard communication (HAZCOM), or any others. An effective safety stand-down should not just focus on a specific hazard, but also safe and protective methods, organization’s policies and procedures, safe work practices as well as goals and objectives.

Fall Prevention

According to OSHA, "Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 350 of the 937 construction fatalities recorded in 2015 (BLS data).” These striking infographics sum up the devastating consequences of fall incidents in construction, which are preventable by increasing fall hazard awareness, proper planning and effective training.

Each of us must do our part in ensuring that construction professionals get home safe every day. That's what drives us at ClickSafety and why we continue to reinforce the value of ongoing education in our profession. We encourage you to take this time to hold a fall prevention safety stand-down for your organization!