A bill that would dramatically increase the maximum fines for occupational safety-related felony convictions has been passed by the New York State Assembly and is headed to the state Senate.

Wearable exoskeleton devices can reduce some of the mechanical stress of manual labor (1). These wearable machines can be powered by electricity or by human motion, and they can be as large as a space suit or as small as a glove.

A fall, suffocation and being crushed claimed the lives of two construction workers and left another with serious injuries in separate incidents in New York last week.

Approximately 4,000 construction workers are about to be a little bit safer, due to a partnership formed recently between the Georgia Institute of Technology Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program, Holder Construction Co., Associated General Contractors of Georgia Inc. and OSHA.

Last week wasn’t a good one for New York City’s construction industry, which has come under increasing criticism for taking safety shortcuts under pressure from high-end developers eager to capitalize on the city’s building boom.

The owner of a New York City construction company has been charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of an employee. News sources say Michael Weiss is accused of ignoring repeated requests for material to use in shoring up a retaining wall adjacent to a site where his employees were conducting excavation.

Standing on rooftops and rebar are facts of life in the construction industry, but fatal falls from these heights do not have to be. In the United States each year, 10,000 construction workers are seriously injured from falls at the worksite (1). In 2015 alone, 350 construction workers perished due to falls, accounting for nearly 40% of all construction sector fatalities (2).

Falls from height continue to be the leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 364 fatalities recorded in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). To remind and educate employers in the construction industry about the dangers from falls and dropped tools, 3M™ Fall Protection is proud to participate in the OSHA National Safety Stand-Down, May 8-12, 2017.

OSHA has new resources that employers can use in their discussions with employees during the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, which runs today through May 12. Two videos have been posted on the Stand-Down homepage and a series of infographics can be downloaded from OSHA's Fall Prevention Campaign webpage.

OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction takes place next week, May 8-12. It’s a voluntary event during which employers are asked to take a break – or “stand down” – and have a conversations with their workers about fall hazards and fall prevention. It can also be an opportunity for employees to talk to management about fall hazards they see on the job.