Throughout Safety Week 2015, May 3-9, ABC, its’ members and many other organizations within the construction industry partnered to highlight the importance of being safe both on and off the jobsite. To kick off both Safety Week 2015 and OSHA’s annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, ABC conducted a toolbox talk stand-down event in Washington, DC with members HITT Construction and Power Design, Inc. for more than 200 employees on a HITT and Power Design Atlantic Plumbing jobsite. The event covered personal fall arrest system orientation, personal protective equipment inspections, slips, trips and falls, and incorporated electrical lockout and tagout training. 

“General Contractors and Subcontractors might have their differences but when it comes to safety, it's all about collaboration and cooperation,” said Power Design’s Regional Safety Manager, Jerry Rivera. “We see this event as an opportunity to include training for the Hispanic workforce; by offering training in a workers’ native language, we make a significant contribution to enhancing safety within the Hispanic community.”

In addition, from May 5-9, ABC and its’ members highlighted daily safety topics including fall protection, health and wellness, soft tissue injury prevention, and hand protection. 

Safety Week 2015 wrapped up with an industry-wide Employee Appreciation Day Friday, May 9th where jobsites across the country engaged in recognition stand-downs to recognize employees who operate safely—and keep others safe—and to emphasize that the lessons learned on the jobsite translate into safety at home.

All training was conducted in both English and Spanish to increase the effectiveness of training among all employees.

"We want to make sure there's no gap in training,” said ABC CEO Michael D. Bellaman.  “Some companies can go a whole year without an incident, so we know it's possible. 

 The resources developed by the Safety Week coalition and ABC will remain available throughout the year as we help our members achieve world-class safety programs and performance. For more information on Safety Week 2015, visit www.safetyweek2015.com.  

For more information on OSHA’s National Safety Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, visit www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown. 

For more information on ABC’s Safety Best Practices Portal, visit www.abc.org/safetybestpractices.