Mark R. O'Connell, Director of Safety and Health Hobbs, Incorporated

Statistics  Construction is dangerous work. Historically, there have been years when there are more fatalities in construction than in any other industry.  Since January 2012, the Bridgeport Office of OSHA has already investigated over 80 falls resulting in two fatalities

Statistics The construction industry makes up less than 5% of the nation’s workforce but accounts for more than 20% of all workplace fatalities.

Statistics In 2003, the U.S. residential construction industry employed more than 824,000 workers...

Statistics of those workers died.

Falls killed 49 of these 128 victims. That’s a bit more than 1/3.

Those were...Husbands, Wives... Sons, Daughters... Friends, Family Members... and Co-workers That did not return home safe to their family that day

But falls don’t only kill...

In 2002, falls on residential construction sites were the second leading cause of injuries resulting in days away from work.

Statistics Approximately 1 out of every 200 residential construction workers experienced an injury from a fall to a lower level in This injury rate is approximately 20% higher than the nonresidential construction builders rate.

Is it because the worker wasn’t careful? Is it because residential construction is more dangerous than other types of construction?

Or Is it because the worker wasn’t communicated the importance and need to work safe? Regardless of the reason, it is time to stop the trend.

MORE VARIED ETHNICITIES ARE BEING EMPLOYED The influx of employees whose first language is Spanish or other language has expanded the construction workforce and added skills to many contracting companies.

Many have varied educational levels and varied abilities to read and understand English

Many employees may not have the experience with products, processes, and technology they are assigned to use in both safety compliance and productivity.

Many have a little or no formal safety training

At-risk behaviors don’t always result in injuries or other penalties sufficient to discourage their occurrence. The employee gets comfortable performing the task in an unsafe manner “THE NOTHING WILL HAPPEN TO ME I’VE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY SYNDROME”

Reality One More Varied Ethnicities Are Being Employed The differences in culture and language present significant barriers which impede the successful integration of varied ethnicities in the workforce. Those barriers need to be broken down. If they are not adequately addressed, employers can anticipate persistent problems with safety, quality, and productivity.

Reality Two Many have varied educational levels and varied abilities to read and understand English  Know the obstacles associated with communicating the safety message including language barriers and understanding comprehension.  Make sure the communication is fully understood in a language that they understand.

Reality Three  Don’t anticipate that the employee understands the process or tool or equipment, have them show you in some manner that they understand it.

Reality Four Many have a little or no formal safety training  Train them in a language they comprehend  Provide the training and put it into terms they'll understand.  Make sure that they understand that it's in their best interest to learn.  Pictures, gestures, videos and on-site training have more impact than words.  Documentation. Even with a group of non-written programs, it's vital to document what workers have been taught.

Reality Five Discourage the occurrence of at risk behavior. 1. Do not let the employee get comfortable performing the task in an unsafe manner 2. Let them know in no uncertain terms the consequences for their actions “FYI the employee in the picture was terminated by the employer for violating the companies safety regulations “

 It may require a little extra effort to plan your training for a diverse workforce. The rewards are there, however.  Proper training to meet OSHA requirements will ensure better safety for your workers.  It will minimize the chance that you’ll be cited (and penalized) for violating the OSHA standards.  Reaching all workers with your training will help worker cohesiveness.

 A good training program should reduce your accident and injury rate.  In turn, that reduces your workers’ comp costs.  If these five results are achieved—on top of all that, there’s a very good likelihood that you will achieve the ultimate goal and that is:

 To let every person on every jobsite go back home safe to their family each day. Thank You