Construction Site Safety Resources

Constructions sites can be dangerous places to work. Keeping your construction site safe, whether as a manager or a worker, is important. First, focusing on safety and preventing accidents will help protect you and your co-workers from getting injured. Second, stopping accidents before they happen helps construction businesses to decrease the number of lost work hours due to injuries and decrease their liability for injuries to their employees. The following resources may help when researching how to keep your construction work site safe:

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

The OSHA is the U.S. governmental agency responsible for all worker safety, including construction site safety. They have numerous resources that would be helpful for construction workers to prevent accidents.

• File a Complaint with OSHA - You can inform OSHA of your unsafe workplace by filing a complaint online or contacting your closest Regional & Area Office. To report an emergency, fatality, or imminent life-threatening situation at your workplace, call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

• Construction Focus Four Hazards Training - OSHA has a training program designed to help prevent the four major causes of construction accidents: falls, being caught in between, struck by object, and electrocution.

• Construction Safety Video - OSHA safety video titled Choice or Chance? about construction site safety.

• Nail Gun Safety - OSHA has a special section devoted to nail gun safety due to the high numbers of workers that have to visit the emergency room each year due to nail gun accidents.

• Preventing Falls in Construction - OSHA's section providing information on regulations and presentations on Fall Protection in Residential Construction.

Other Governmental Agencies

In addition to the OSHA, other North American federal and state or province governmental agencies also work on workplace safety and health. Below is a small selection of these organizations that provided construction safety information:

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The CDC has a section devoted to construction related safety & health topics.

• Hawaii Occupational Safety & Health - Hawaii provides downloadable ergonomical survival guides for various subfields of the construction industry.

• National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health - A part of the CDC, this agency can provide a Health Hazard Evaluation of your construction site to check its safety.

• Ontario Ministry of Labour - Construction health & safety publications and training materials.

Other Resources

Construction unions and trade associations often also provide their members and the public with construction safety information. Some, such as the AFL-CIO, also create non-profit organizations to improve safety in the construction industry. The following are some of the many non-governmental organizations providing construction safety information:

• Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) - CPWR publishes reports on many different topics including Health Hazards, Safety Hazards, Design for Safety, and Analysis of Construction Deaths & Injuries.

• Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety & Health - Developed and maintained by CPWR, this site contains construction safety information on numerous different trades, hazards, and types of jobsites. Also available in Spanish.

• National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse - Library of resources to improve roadway work zone safety for all roadway users.

• Safe Work Practices - The Alberta Construction Safety Association provides safe work practices fact sheets on numerous construction related safety topics.

• Safety Handbook for Masonry - A helpful safety handbook specifically for masons.

• Scaffold Injuries - This FindLaw article provides information on the dangers of scaffolds and New York's "scaffold law."

Get Legal Help Today

If you or someone you know was harmed by an unsafe condition at your construction site, you should consult with an experienced construction accident attorney to make sure your legal rights are protected. Wondering if you have a case worth pursuing? Have the facts of your claim get an initial review by a qualified attorney as soon as possible.