The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is partnering with construction contractors, the Federal Highway Administration, the state of Georgia and local government organizations to sponsor a one-hour safety stand-down at construction sites around Georgia during National Highway Work Zone Awareness Week, which will be April 15-19.
Workers will voluntarily stop work at construction sites from 7 to 8 a.m. EDT to conduct work zone safety training focused on the prevention of distracted driving, such as texting while driving, and worker injuries from traffic objects and vehicles. Objects and vehicles striking workers are the leading cause of construction-related deaths. Approximately 75 percent of struck-by fatalities involve heavy equipment, such as trucks or cranes.
The stand-down is being organized by the Georgia Struck-By Alliance, which includes representatives from OSHA, the Georgia Branch of the Associated General Contractors of America, 3M Visibility & Insulations Solutions, Georgia’s Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration’s Georgia Division, and the Georgia Highways Contractors Association. It also includes the Georgia Utility Contractors Association, the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Lamar Signs and the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia. Additional participants are Georgia Power, Pike Electric, the National Safety Council – Georgia Chapter, Ansco & Associates and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
“Alliance members have demonstrated initiative and leadership organizing this industry wide safety stand-down throughout Georgia to emphasize the importance of work zone safety. The stand-down will heighten construction workers’ awareness of and ability to identify and help employers eliminate work-related hazards,” said Teresa Harrison, OSHA’s acting regional administrator for the Southeast.
An informational flier and toolbox, in English and Spanish, are available on the Associated General Contractors of America Inc. Georgia Branch website at http://www.agcga.org/cs/safety_stand_down_program/georgia_struckby_alliance_safety_stand_down_april_2013. For more information, contact Christi Griffin in OSHA’s Atlanta-West Area Office at 678-903-7301, Bill Fulcher in the Atlanta-East Area Office at 770-493-6644, or Robert Vazzi in the Savannah Area Office at 912-652-4393.
Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with groups committed to worker safety and health to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. These groups include unions, consulates, trade and professional organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, businesses and educational institutions. OSHA and the groups work together to develop compliance assistance tools and resources, and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. Alliance Program participants do not receive exemptions from OSHA programmed inspections. For more information on this and other cooperative programs, visit http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/index_programs.html.
