Job place safety is a priority in any workplace, but it is especially important in the building industry where our employees and coworkers are interacting with heavy machinery, and power tools regularly. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) offers a variety of safety resources to assist in keeping members safe.
Musculoskeletal (muscles, bones, joints and adjacent connective tissues) disorders are a leading cause of workplace injury. The NAHB has a Material Handling and Safe Lifting Video Toolbox Talk to help avoid sprains and strains on your job sites. Other resources include the NAHB Safety Program Toolkit for small to medium size businesses to effortlessly set up a successful, company-wide safety program. Other Toolkits are also available for topics such as: Fall Safety (Falls are the No. 1 cause of accidents and injuries in home building), Trenching and Excavation, Heat Stress, and OSHA Recording keeping at NAHB.com
Videos are an easy way to quickly get across safety information to your employees, and the Builders Association has a variety of safety short films to share as well in their Video Toolbox Talks.
Since Ladder accidents are such a big percentage of job site injuries March has been designated National Ladder Safety Month. The American Ladder Institute has compiled all the need to know resources on their Ladder Safety Month website and there will be a collection of Webinars to attend in March as well.
NAHB has chosen to highlight mental health initiatives in the past years, recognizing this is now an issue that needs to be pursued. Included in those highlights is focusing on Opioids in Home Building, and Signs of Substance Misuse. Recognizing that drugs and alcohol are part of a bigger mental issue is a huge step for making our workplaces even safer. We also encourage looking in to the SAFE Project’s No Shame nationwide campaign to help educate there is No Shame in talking about or seeking treatment for mental health and substance use disorders.
Builders Mutual Insurance is also a huge advocate for job site safety. They have a variety of blogs and content you can explore on their blog as well.
The Construction Safety & Health Committee focuses directly on assistance and resources to help builders operate safe job sites, and maintain OSHA compliances. You can learn more about what they do here, and their safety awards programs.