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Safety Stand-Down Week, June 2-6

Falls account for the highest number of deaths among construction workers nationally and more than half of all worker hospitalizations across all industries in Washington state. Because of the high number of falls in the workplace the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is teaming up with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to announce a “Safety Stand-Down” during the week of June 2−6.

This is a voluntary event for employers to talk directly to their employees about fall hazards and to reinforce the importance of fall prevention.

“Preventable falls − whether from rooftops ladders or slips and trips − cause many disabling injuries and a number of deaths in our state each year” said Anne Soiza assistant director of L&I’s division of occupational safety and health. “We hope that every employer in the state will set aside time during the Stand-Down to focus on fall prevention.”

During the Safety Stand-Down L&I and OSHA are urging all employers and workers to pause and talk about fall hazards at work and how to prevent them. To help start the conversation L&I has developed some entertaining one-minute “Eye on Safety” videos. The new videos available at www.EyeOnSafety.info feature different kinds of falls in a variety of workplaces including a construction site a restaurant a retail shop and an office.

“Employers and workers can use their smart phones or a tablet to watch the videos and then have a safety conversation right there on the spot” said Soiza.

Find more info here.