June is National Safety Month. While workplace and home safety are important every day of the year, the National Safety Council (NSC) specially focuses on safety during the month of June to help educate the public. Highlighting the following four themes throughout the month, the NSC aims to reduce the leading causes of injury and death – at home and in your workplace.

In 2016 OSHA issued a final rule on respirable crystalline silica which called enforcement in the construction industry beginning June 23, 2017. But this spring OSHA delayed that compliance schedule in order to “conduct additional outreach and provide education materials and guidance for employers.” So for those in construction, you have some extra time. Enforcement will not begin until September 23, 2017.

As we discussed last May, OSHA issued a final rule related to the collection of workplace injury and illness data. One aspect of this rule was the electronic submission of records. OSHA has recently shared their intent to propose a delay in the submission deadline.

Rigging. It’s a common work practice in construction, but many in general industry also have a need for lifting loads. If done incorrectly, rigging can be incredibly dangerous. Not only can a dropped load cause property damage, but it can lead to a serious injury or fatality should the load hit someone.

Knowing how to identify rigging hazards, understanding how to use rigging properly, and ensuring the proper inspection of all rigging is critical for workplace safety.

A strong return-to-work program has numerous benefits – for the employees and the employer! If you are having difficulty getting buy-in from your employees, front-line supervisors, or even top management to start or reboot your return-to work program, start by explaining the benefits of the program.

The threat of violence is a reality in the modern workplace. Each year, nearly 2 million U.S. workers report having been victims of workplace violence. And that is only the reported cases, unfortunately many other incidents go unreported.

The impact of workplace violence can be devastating. It’s a serious threat to an organization’s safety, security, business continuity, employee productivity, brand, and reputation. What can you do to prevent incidents in your workplace? And how can you be prepared to respond should tragedy strike?

Risk exists in every line of work. Whether you’re a banker or a construction worker, there are inherent risks you must identify and manage. In construction, risk management is extremely vital as it is about keeping people safe. It’s not inconceivable that someone could die on the job. It is, therefore, important you develop a comprehensive and effective risk management strategy.

When an emergency strikes, will you and your employees be ready to respond? Do you have an emergency action plan in place? Even if you have a written plan in place, will everyone react according to the plan?

Having a plan is critical, especially in an emergency, but it won’t do you any good if your employees don’t know how to respond! You can help lead the fight by effectively communicating and training your employees on what the plan is and how to respond in case of emergency.

Why is timely reporting important for workers’ compensation claims? If you, as the employer, report claims in a timely manner you’ll see faster treatment for the injured employee, the prevention of injury exacerbation, and even future accident prevention. You’ll also likely notice lower costs.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger GenieBelt, the creator of a construction software and mobile app. GenieBelt’s blog and infographic address an important construction risk management concern – corruption. Unfortunately corruption is all too prevalent in the construction industry, as you’ll see from their data. In order to manage this risk, we need to first understand where it stems from. We hope you enjoy GenieBelt’s insight on this important construction risk management topic.

The construction market is huge – so huge that it is estimated to be worth more than $3.2 trillion per year and make up for 2-3% of developing countries’ GDP and 5-7% of developed countries’ GDP. 

The amount of losses through corruption range between 10 and 30%, which together with mismanagement and inefficiency makes up for close to $6 trillion losses. These numbers highlight the size of the problem and why eradicating corruption would make a big difference for the industry and for the overall economy.