May is Mental Health Awareness month and a great opportunity to highlight the importance of taking care of our emotional and mental wellbeing to our employees. Mental health is a huge component of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s (CIASP’s) suicide prevention efforts and one really cannot be addressed without the other. Because of this, we feel that May is the perfect time to take the pledge to STAND up for Suicide Prevention.

Have you taken the pledge yet? No matter what your role in the industry – CIASP has a pledge for you! Contractors, Unions, Associations, Service Providers like CPAs, Insurance Companies and Sureties, Partners in the Mental Health & Suicide Prevention space and also Project Owners. We all have a role to play in addressing mental health and suicide prevention in the construction industry.

If you have pledged – please let others know – and encourage them to do the same. Post the actions you are taking on social media, tag theCIASP, and use the hashtag #STANDupforSuicidePrevention.

AGC is requesting presentation proposals covering construction safety and health issues as well as those cross-over topics that would appeal to a broader audience of Safety, Health & Environmental (SH&E) professionals; for example leadership, management, training, general technologies, or risk and crisis management that use a mix of safety and health and environmental examples. The conferences address the most critical safety and health issues impacting the business of construction, provides management guidance for professionals, and gives context for other construction professionals looking to understand the key concepts and round out their knowledge.

 

For more information on speaker expectations, important deadlines, and how to submit your proposal, click here.

The coronavirus has required many construction firms to change the way they operate. AGC is committed to helping the industry keep workers safe and keep construction going. We are posting coronavirus safety tips at workingsafe.agc.org every Wednesday. We encourage you to incorporate these tips into your discussions and materials to employees.

Along with all of our AGC partners, AGC NYS staff has been working around the clock to serve our members in this time of national crisis, one which so far is hitting New York much harder than any other state.

Hundreds of construction firms across the country stopped work Thursday, April 9, 2020, to hold what are called safety stand downs focusing on ways to protect construction workers and the public from the spread of coronavirus. The safety stand down, which was organized by AGC of America, was designed to make sure firms and workers are taking measures outlined by public health and safety officials to protect workers on active construction sites and the public.

 

A successful construction company safety program goes beyond policies and procedures, training manuals, toolbox talks and incident monitoring. In fact, companies with strong safety records have a culture of safety versus a program for safety.

BY SHERYL S. JACKSON

The construction industry faces a severe shortage of craft workers as well as other team members, and at the same time, leaders recognize that many women, who make up about half of the total workforce, are staying clear of construction opportunities. One concern is improperly fitting safety equipment.

BY DEBRA WOOD

This Manual defines the standards used by road managers nationwide to install and maintain traffic control devices on all public streets, highways, and private toads open to public traffic. The MUTCD is published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 655, Subpart F. This manual also includes all 2012 revisions.

 

AGC is committed to providing our members with valuable resources and updates during these challenging times. AGC compiled comprehensive resources on a new webpage dedicated to COVID-19 and the construction industry.  You can navigate to topic-specific news and information or browse the latest updates from the website.  AGC will continue to monitor the situation and update the information online accordingly.

As the nation reels from the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic, with construction projects threatened, leadership at AGC of America continuously advocates for members.

BY DEBRA WOOD