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Top News
Tossing fish has more to do with teamwork on a construction jobsite than we thought. Learn the lessons of the World Famous Pike Place fishmongers — provide great customer service, foster community engagement and teamwork, promote safety and sustainability, and all-around make someone’s day — at the keynote address at AGC’s Construction Safety, Health & Environmental Conference, beginning July 23 in Seattle. Learn more about the fishmongers. Click here to register.
The U.S. Secretary of Labor appointed AGC of America's Senior Director of Safety & Health, Kevin Cannon, as the new Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health, citing his commitment and leadership abilities. Cannon has served as a member of the committee since 2011, representing construction employers as the committee helps advise the Secretary of Labor on safety standards and policy issues.
The next committee meeting will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 17, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 18. Both meetings will be held in Conference Rooms N-5437 A-D at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210. The meeting is open to the public.
Construction safety professionals are familiar with the long-running Focus Four safety program pioneered by OSHA which has been an effective vehicle to encourage action on four key fatal injury hazards in construction. A new publication by the American Industrial Hygiene Association called, “Focus Four for Health: An Initiative for the Construction Industry,” provides for the first time a companion piece to allow the same approach to be applied to four widely prevalent construction health hazards: manual material handling, high noise, air contaminants, and high temperatures.
  
The survey will close by the middle of August
As demand for construction in most parts of the country continues to expand and the number of unemployed construction workers hits record low levels, AGC of America and Autodesk are working to better quantify where these shortages are taking place, how severe they are, and what steps firms are taking to both cope with tight labor markets and improve the supply of new, qualified workers. That is why we are asking members to take a few minutes to complete the workforce survey that we have prepared. The more people understand the scope, and consequences, of a tight construction labor market, the more likely they are to act on the measures we are promoting to make it easier for school systems, local associations and private firms to establish career and technical education and training programs. The more members who take the survey, the better able we all will be to describe labor market conditions where you operate.
Events
September 4-6, 2019
Idaho Associated General Contractors 1649 Shoreline Dr #100 Boise, ID 83702 Registration Fee: $995 The AGC Safety Management Training Course (SMTC) provides attendees three days of training on the basic skills needed to manage a company safety program in the construction industry. Held just a few times per year at select locations around the country, the SMTC program builds on Focus Four training and prepares attendees to manage key safety issues on the job site and provides techniques for delivering basic safety training to field personnel. Participants will receive intensive instruction and training that will allow them to return to their firms with readily applicable new skills to positively impact their company’s safety and health program.
October 23 - 25, 2019
Associated General Contractors of Georgia, Inc. 1940 The Exchange, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30339 Registration fee: $1,195.00 This unique three–day course provides construction safety and health professionals with the next–level knowledge required to successfully manage a company–wide safety program. Moving beyond the basics of Focus Four training, AGC's Advanced Safety Management Training Program will give participants a more holistic view of safety's role in project and company success, as well as advanced tactics and best practices for managing all aspects of a corporate safety program. Participants will also focus on the importance of "selling" safety throughout the organization and methods to generate buy–in from different audiences. AGC of America, supported by Susan Harwood Federal Training Grant, developed the Fall Prevention Safety Training Program. AUGUST & SEPTEMBER CLASSES September 18, 2019 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. September 17 & 18, 2019 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Member News
BY SHERYL S. JACKSON
Clear, accurate, real-time information is a critical component of an effective safety plan, but the size and complexity of construction jobsites makes communication difficult in any type of emergency. When an active shooter crisis developed on a property adjacent to one of Skiles Group’s projects a few years ago, it was difficult to share timely and accurate information about the developing situation with dozens of workers spread across multiple floors of an operational hospital. This raised the questions: How can project workers better alert a supervisor that help is needed, and what if the emergency was on-site and required evacuation or other safety measures to be implemented? Safety Cabinet
Companies need guidance on how to investigate a job site accident properly. This program helps you better prepare contractors for investigating accidents on their jobsite, including root cause analysis. Accidents occur on construction jobsites every day. The failure of people, equipment, supplies, or surroundings causes most of them. Incident investigations determine how and why these failures occur. By using the information gained through an investigation, a similar, or perhaps more disastrous, accident may be prevented. It is important to conduct incident investigations with prevention in mind and not blame. Package includes a twenty-two minute DVD video and one booklet. This video is now available for licensing. If interested, please contact Marketing Manager, Laura Alcocer at laura.alcocer@agc.org.
Best Practices
PROVIDED BY UNITED RENTALS, A MEMBER OF MULTIPLE AGC CHAPTERS
The following topics can be the foundation for a toolbox talk series to advance worker knowledge about trench hazards and safe work practices in trenching and excavation operations.
“The challenges of trenching and excavation jobsite safety are something companies face every day,” said Todd Hayes, region vice president – trench safety, United Rentals, a member of multiiple AGC chapters. “Everyone working at these sites needs to be knowledgeable with trench safety practices and toolbox talks keep safety top-of-mind with workers.”
PROVIDED BY WESTERN SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS, A MEMBER OF MULTIPLE AGC CHAPTERS
Summer is a great time for construction work, but a brutal time for construction workers. Excessive heat and sun exposure pose significant dangers, such as sunburn, dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Every year, construction workers become ill on the job and some even lose their lives due to heat exposure.
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Construction workers make up approximately 4 percent of the country’s workforce but account for an average of 19 percent of all job-related fatalities each year. Consistently, over the past five years approximately 35-39 percent of those fatalities are from falls. Falls account for the greatest number of fatalities in the construction industry, especially among small businesses and businesses with Hispanic workers. In addition, fall protection violations continue to be among the most-cited standards in the construction industry. AGC of America is pleased to offer this one-day training program based on OSHA standards and best practices to answer the need for quality training within the industry. Classes are offered at various locations and dates throughout the year.
