Mental health & suicide prevention in construction - How to build wellness programs with impact

The construction industry is raising awareness and encouraging open discussion about mental health and substance abuse to reduce suicide in the workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has added stress, anxiety, and fear to contractors’ already high risk of suicide. We can all agree this is a scary subject and we need to address the public health crisis in our country. But how do we heal our workforce? Please use the following resources to help you spot warning signs, start the conversation, and provide support to those who need it – which can save lives. It takes construction professionals at all levels working together and with their risk partners to build a culture of caring and prevention. Click HERE for further information and to watch a session on this topic recorded as part of AGC’s 2021 Construction Risk Management Conference. And be sure to read what other AGC members are doing to help promote mental health awareness at their companies in our MEMBER NEWS section of this newsletter.

Every year, dozens of workers die and thousands more become ill while working in extreme heat or humid conditions. There are a range of heat illnesses and they can affect anyone, regardless of age or physical condition. OSHA's Heat Illness Prevention campaign, launched in 2011, educates employers and workers on the dangers of working in the heat. Through training sessions, outreach events, informational sessions, publications, social media messaging and media appearances, millions of workers and employers have learned how to protect workers from heat.

 

Because of AGC of America's strong partnership with federal OSHA, top agency officials will speak at the association's safety, health, and environmental conference scheduled from July 26 – 28, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

 

Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Doug Parker and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jim Frederick, and other key staff from the Directorate of Construction, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, and Directorate of Enforcement Programs will address conference attendees on OSHA's priorities for the coming years. Their presence gives AGC its first significant in-person interaction with agency officials since the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mr. Parker in November 2021.

 

Register today to:
• Learn more about recent rulemaking and policy initiatives on heat illness prevention and electronic injury/illness reporting;
• Hear about what the industry can expect from OSHA in the near and distant future; and
• Gain a better insight into what's in store for construction safety and health.

 

For more information, please contact Nazia Shah at nazia.shah@agc.org or Kevin Cannon at kevin.cannon@agc.org.

As a demonstration of AGC of America's leadership in construction safety and health, association staff delivered remarks at two events to help kick off Construction Safety Week and OSHA's National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction from May 2-6.

 

While addressing attendees at Aldridge Electric's Construction Safety Week kick-off event in Chicago, IL, AGC CEO Steve Sandherr spoke about the association's efforts to promote safety week and its initiatives to address mental health and suicide prevention in the construction industry. He also highlighted AGC's Culture of Care program, aligning perfectly with this year's safety week theme - "CONNECTED. SUPPORTED. SAFE."

 

At OSHA's Falls Prevention Stand-Down event hosted by Clark Construction in Washington, D.C., AGC Senior Director of Safety & Health Services Kevin Cannon talked about AGC's ongoing efforts to educate the industry on fall prevention through the DOL/OSHA Susan Harwood Training Grant program. He also highlighted the association's partnership with Autodesk, which distributed $75,000 worth of fall protection equipment in 2020 and 2021. Joining him at this event were Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Doug Parker and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jim Frederick.

 

 

AGC of America and our survey partner, HCSS, are asking all highway and transportation members help us improve work zone safety by completing this brief survey. We want to collect information on the number, severity, impacts and potential solutions to highway work zone crashes. We will use the results of this survey for a media and public education campaign we will launch the week before Memorial Day to encourage motorists to be more careful in work zones.

 

Please take a few minutes to complete this important highway work zone safety survey by May 13: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RN3PGJD. And of course, please do not hesitate to contact Brian Turmail at 703-459-0238 or brian.turmail@agc.org with any questions, comments or concerns about this survey and our plans to use it to promote highway work zone safety.

 

On April 8, OSHA issued the first national emphasis program (NEP) addressing outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards. The NEP incorporates and expands on the September 1, 2021, heat initiative memorandum to further focus on heat-related hazards and provides procedures for programmed and follow-up inspections in targeted workplaces. Under the emphasis program, each Region is expected to have a fiscal year goal of increasing their heat inspections by 100% above the baseline of the average of fiscal years 2017 through 2021. OSHA Area Offices are required to assess the potential for heat-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths where heat-related hazards may exist on heat priority days when the heat index is expected to be 80°F or higher.

Thursday, May 12, 2022 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

The legalization of marijuana has wide-reaching implications on workplace safety. Historically, policies addressing marijuana use among employees were straightforward. Employers’ policies geared towards maintaining a drug-free workplace did not run afoul of state or federal laws. However, the potential passage of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, at the federal level, as well as the existing recreational and medical marijuana laws at the state level has made enforcing such policies more challenging. Some states protect an employer's right to maintain a marijuana-free workplace while others make it difficult to regulate employees’ marijuana use. Furthermore, while recreational marijuana is often compared to alcohol, assessing marijuana impairment is much more complicated because current testing only proves past use.

During this session, our dynamic panel of industry experts will address the confusion surrounding the legalization of marijuana, including testing for reasonable suspicion. This session will cover the following topics:

• The current legal landscape of medical and recreational marijuana laws at the state and federal level
• The reasonable suspicion “test” and how employers should approach employees suspected of being impaired
• The future of drug testing for marijuana in the workplace
• How one employer is enforcing policies regarding marijuana use among their workforce and those of contractors

This webinar is part of 4-part webinar series on How Construction Employers—from Field Supervisors to the C-Suite—Can Improve Worker Health & Behavioral Outcomes. Learn more and register HERE.

 

AGC’s Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA), sponsored by Willis Towers Watson (WTW), is the industry’s elite safety excellence awards program. The CSEA recognizes companies that have developed and implemented premier safety and risk control programs and showcases companies that have achieved continuous improvement and maintenance of their safety and health management systems. Join us for a 5-part webinar series highlighting the top 10 safest construction companies for 2021. The interactive, Q-and-A format will explore each company’s approach to the following areas:

• Senior Management Ownership and Participation
• Risk Identification and Analysis
• Task design - Engineering Controls for Safety
• Safe Work Methods
• Worker Engagement, Involvement, and Participation
• Safety Training and Validation of Training
• Subcontractor Management
• Emergency and Crisis Management

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear how these companies developed award-winning safety, health, and risk management programs. Learn more and register HERE.

October 26 – 28, 2022 | Albuquerque, NM
Registration: $1095 before 7/15/2022 | $1195 after 7/15/2022

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.

Suicide is the leading cause of construction fatalities and suicide rates in the construction industry are four times the national average. According to studies by the Centers for Disease Control, suicide rates in the U.S. working population increased 34% from 2000-2016 and is the leading cause of violent death for men in the construction industry.

 

Faith Technologies Incorporated (FTI), a member of multiple AGC chapters, has been awarded the 2022 Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America (MHA). The Bell Seal is a first-of-its-kind workplace mental health certification that recognizes employers who strive to create mentally healthy workplaces for their employees.

 

Mental health and worker wellbeing are an invisible crisis in construction. Before the pandemic, the construction workforce had a prevalence of mental health challenges, substance misuse and suicide risk. 

 

TDIndustries, a member of multiple AGC chapters, is embracing innovative and modern head protection by providing safety helmets to the workforce. During Construction Safety Week, TD educated workers on head protection safety innovation and how upgrading from hard hats to safety helmets can reduce traumatic brain injury risks.

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.

 

Whoever said that life, death and taxes are the three things in life that are certain forgot to include weather as the fourth. Just ask anyone in the construction industry, and they’ll tell you that Mother Nature has her own ideas. This is why disaster preparedness is more vital than ever especially if you live and work in an area prone to hurricanes, floods and flash floods.
BY LISA KOPOCHINSKI