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Politics & Policy
US House Introduces Resolution Opposing DOL’s New Davis-Bacon Rule
ABC Slams OSHA’s Worker Walkaround Rule for Failing to Promote Workplace Health and Safety
State Off-Year Elections Deliver Losses To GOP Heading Into 2024
Safety
Utilize Software To Achieve Your Safety Goals
OSHA Extends Comment Period on OSHA Walkaround Proposed Rule to Nov. 13
ABC Expresses Serious Concerns to Congress About OSHA Worker Walkaround Rule
Events/Products/Programs
Nearly 350 ABC Leaders Gather in Washington for Annual Legislative Conference
ABC Members Rank Among ENR’s Top 400 Contractors
Trades Day: Industry Outreach Opportunity With Meaning
State/Local News
Ed Capodanno Honored by Delaware State Legislature
Election Update: ABC Staff and Members Elected in 2022
California Targets Workplace Cannabis Testing
Awards
ABC Congratulates 30 Members Awarded DOL’s 2023 HIRE Vets Medallion
ABC Honors 3 New Applicants With the AQC Credential in October
Graham Roofing Earns the AQC Credential in September
Legislation
ABC-Supported Legislation To Overturn the Northern Long-Eared Bat’s Endangered Species Listing Heads to President Biden’s Desk
ABC Advocates for Solutions to Workforce Shortage at U.S. House Committee Roundtable
Smucker Introduces the ABC-Supported Main Street Tax Certainty Act
Regulations
NLRB Extends Effective Date of the Joint Employer Final Rule to Feb. 26, 2024
DOL’s Unlawful Proposed Overtime Rule Will Disrupt Construction Workers’ Workplace Flexibility
ABC’s November Regulatory Roundup—Learn About the Latest Developments Affecting the Construction Industry
Workforce Development
Register Now for ABC’s Construction Inclusion Week Webinar Series
DOL High Road Workforce Development Program Map Snubs Nonunion Programs
LISTEN: How to Design an Effective Technology Adoption Strategy
Safety training equips supervisors to lead and manage projects, people, processes and policies. This training is enhanced through frequent, regularly scheduled safety meetings involving supervisory staff and the company safety director. These intentional, agenda-driven meetings go beyond training and education, helping to develop relationships as challenges and successes are shared.
Substance abuse prevention should be a topic not only for supervisory safety training, but the challenges and successes surrounding it should also be a topic of discussion for supervisory safety meetings. With the state-by-state legalization of recreational cannabis, substance use needs to be addressed. It is crucial to understand local laws and company policies.
Whether through legal or illegal use, the construction industry has suffered from the effects of substance impairment for decades. Some companies are responding with high-tech impairment recognition devices or smartphone apps that measure cognitive function or eye response or can even detect cannabis in saliva. Other companies are doubling down on high-touch impairment recognition by starting each day with a huddle that allows the crew leader to evaluate impairment as they perform task-specific planning (Job Hazard Analysis, Activity Hazard Analysis, Pre-Task Plan, etc.) and a stretch and flex. Likewise, some companies are adapting their behavior-based safety observation system to include recognition of possible impairment.
As a company’s safety culture matures, safety meetings with the supervisory staff and safety director will eventually provide the value of a peer group. Safety directors have shared stories of the first time they got a call from a superintendent who proactively asked for advice a week before a critical lift or complex operation. Others shared that superintendents call each other more often for safety advice due to these meetings. Everyone needs a group to belong to where they are heard, understood and willing to hold each other accountable.
Times are changing, and supervisors need to be engaged and equipped to ensure the right things happen at the right time and for the right reason. Holding regular safety meetings creates the environment in which supervisors are set up for success.
Looking for help building your safety program?
Discover resources available through ABC’s STEP Safety Management System and other health and safety topics at abc.org/safety.
For more information or assistance, please reach out to Joe Xavier or Aaron Braun.