GCC Participates in National Safety Stand-Down 2014
Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for 269 of the 775 construction fatalities recorded in 2012. Those deaths were preventable. Fall prevention safety standards continue to be among the top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards. During the week of June 2 – 6, 2014, construction companies across our nation observed and participated in National Safety Stand-Down.
The purpose of this observation was to raise awareness of preventing fall hazards in construction. The national goal was to have 25,000 employers and 50,000 workers hold a Stand-Down, touching 1 out of 10 construction workers in the country. Gilchrist Construction Company capitalized on this occasion as an opportunity to raise awareness within our organization and also to continue to educate our workforce regarding safety best practices.
At GCC, we are proud to report our active participation during this week in toolbox talks with employees about fall hazards and the importance of fall prevention.
Topics included:
During this week, we continued our practice of reporting daily risk observations in all categories, by project and team.
For the week ending June 6th, we reported 256 total risk observations in the following categories:
Table 2: GCC Project & Division Risk Observations by Category; June 2-6, 2014
Table 3: GCC Risk Observations by Project/Team; June 2-6, 2014
An additional element of participation involved the transfer of knowledge across various GCC projects. GCC team members visited GCC job sites other than their own to conduct risk observations, identify hazards, and employ solutions. Members of our leadership team actively participated as well through job site visits to support our teams. This exercise was successful and contributed to improved conditions in terms of safety, risk management, and efficiency at the face of the work.
Table 4: GCC Risk Observation Transfer Project/National Safety Stand-Down
In conclusion, GCC is proud to have been a part of National Safety Stand-Down and is appreciative of the opportunity to contribute to safety best practices in our industry. Thanks to all of our GCC teams for your participation, and to our partners at Marsh and Travelers for their support.