Nail guns are used every day on many construction jobs. They boost productivity but also cause tens of thousands of serious injuries each year. Nail gun injuries are common - one study found that 2 out of 5 residential carpenter apprentices experienced a nail gun injury over a four-year period.

Ten years ago the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) launched the concept of Prevention through Design (PtD), which champions preventing and controlling occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by “designing out” or minimizing hazards and risks.

The most common accidents reported from construction sites, named the “Fatal Four” by OSHA, were responsible for 64.2 percent of construction worker deaths in 2015: falls, struck by an object (“injuries produced by forcible contact or impact between the injured person and an object or piece of equipment”), electrocution, and caught-in or –between hazards (can-ins, pulled into machinery, crushed by two pieces of machinery, etc.).

An electrical worker died June 28 after falling 75 feet at the new Little Caesars Arena construction site in Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press. Detroit Deputy Fire Commission Dave Forell said the man was in cardiac arrest when emergency crews arrived. The 46-year-old victim was found in the bleacher section.

Skanska’s Construction Work Plan tool (CWP) is a Windows-based excel spreadsheet that enables efficient, effective, and consistent planning for construction work activities. The tool has been used by thousands of Skanska team members all over the country. The CWP marries safety planning with lean methodologies.

Three workers were seriously injured and rescued this June in a construction accident in Astoria, Queens, according to New York City CBS2 TV.

Twelve people suffered minor injuries when a building under construction partially collapsed in downtown Oakland in May, burying workers under wet concrete and debris, according to NBC Bay Area TV.

OSHA has announced a new enforcement policy that excludes monorail hoists from the requirements of Subpart CC – Cranes and Derricks in Construction, as long as employers meet other OSHA requirements.

OSHA’s announcement last week of a proposal to modify the agency's recent beryllium standards for the construction and shipyard sectors is being sharply criticized by safety advocates, who are calling it “a step backwards.”