Safety in Massachusetts

CSEA Awards

AGC of America announces its 9th Annual Construction Safety Excellence Awards sponsored by Willis.  Please visit www.agc.org/CSEA.  The deadline for submitting entries to AGC is December 3, 2007.  Click here to download the application. 

OSHA is seeking comments 
OSHA wants your input on the paperwork burdens associated with certain standards covering concrete and masonry construction.  Specifically, the agency is interested in comment on the folllowing requirements:  signs and barriers erected to limit employee access to the posttensioning area; warnings to equipment operators not to operate equipment; availability of plans for jack layout and form work, working decks and scaffolds; and lift slab designs on the jobsite.  Comments are due to OSHA by Monday, 9/24.  For additional information, contact Steward Burkhammer at OSHA 202-693-2020.

Construction Leads Again in a Dismal Statistic
8/14/2007 By Tom Ichniowski

Construction is number one again in on-the-job deaths, but overall it is safer, new statistics show.  

Fatalities:          Fatality Rate (per 100,000 workers):

Construction is number one again in on–the–job deaths, but overall it is safer, new statistics show.   

The number of construction fatalities rose nearly 3% in 2006, and construction's more than 1,200 deaths again made it the industry with the largest number of annual on-the-job fatalities, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. BUT the construction fatality rate went down in 2006, its second-consecutive annual decline, as the number of workers in the industry continued to climb, BLS data show.

The latest yearly BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, released Aug. 9, says that there were 1,226 workplace fatalities in the construction industry in 2006, up 2.8% from the 2005 total of 1,192.

BLS also says that construction's 2006 fatality rate was 10.8 per 100,000 workers. That'sENews, September 14, 2007 down from 11.1 in 2005 and 12.0 in 2004. The number of workers in the industry rose from 10.3 million in 2004 to 11.4 million last year. Construction's fatality rate ranks relatively high among major sectors, but is lower than that for agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (29.6), mining (27.8) and transportation and warehousing (16.3).

The total number of U.S. workplace fatalities declined one-half percent in 2006, to 5,703 according to BLS. The bureau also said that last year's overall fatality rate of 3.9 per 100,000 workers was the lowest since it began its census in 1992. The 2005 rate was 4.0.

To view, the BLS press release on 2006 fatal occupational industries, see: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.toc.htm

Awards 

Congratulations to Chris Ziegler, our Director of Safety for the Job Site Safety and Construction Services Corp., for being selected as a 2007 recipient of the Patrick Volpe-Edward Eagan Construction Safety Award. This award has been given annually since 1970 by the Massachusetts Building Trades Council and their Construction Institute (originally the Construction Safety Alliance). Recipients are nominated and selected by Massachusetts construction safety directors, union labor and management representatives who serve on the Institute's board of directors. The award recognizes men and women for their dedication in advancing safety and health in the construction industry.

As we all know, Chris has dedicated much of his time, expertise and energy in safety and health training since joining AGC in 1999. It is an award that is given by his peers in the industry and one that is truly earned.

Safety Awards - 2006

The National AGC Safety Awards (NASA) program has been an ongoing effort to offer AGC members an opportunity to evaluate their safety record. Participating contractors receive a confidential printout to compare their company's safety statistics with similar size and type AGC contractor members both locally and nationally. NASA provides a great opportunity for contractor members with excellent safety records to compete for nationally recognized awards. Additionally, this information can be used to assist in determining if additional accident prevention and loss control measures are necessary.

National Award winners had to achieve an incident rate 25% below the 2004-2006 national rate of 1.25, or .94. This equates to less than one lost workday case for every 100,000 hours worked.

National Zero Incidence Rate -Building Division

• A.J. Martini
• Campanelli Companies
• Commodore Builders
• Construction Coordinators, Inc.
• W.S. Kenney Company, Inc.
• Kris Larsen Ltd.
• Pizzotti Brothers, Inc.
• Senate Construction Corp.
• P.J. Stella Construction Corp.
• Tocci Building Corporation
• Marc Truant & Associates, Inc.
• A.F. Underhill
• Walsh Brothers, Inc.
• Richard White Sons, Inc.

National 25% Below Incidence Rate - Building Division

• Consigli Construction
• Francis Harvey & Sons, Inc.
• Shawmut Design and Construction

National Zero Incidence Rate - Municipal-Utilities Division

• Joseph P. McCabe, Inc.

AGC of MA Merit Award winners are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (BLS-OSHA) record-keeping systems.

AGC of MA Merit Awards - Building Division

• Barr & Barr, Inc.
• William A Berry & Son, Inc
• C.E. Floyd, Inc.
• Gilbane Building Company
• J.K. Scanlan Company
• Lee Kennedy Co., Inc.
• Skanska USA Building
• Suffolk Construction Co., Inc.
• Turner Construction Co.

AGC of MA Merit Award - Heavy Highway Division

• J.F. White Contracting

AGC of MA Merit Awards - Specialty Division

• CCB, Inc.
• Dec-Tam Corporation
• McDonald Drywall
• Pelletier & Sons, Inc.

Clifford E. Simmons 2006 Memorial Safety Award

• J.K. Scanlan, Inc.

Our member firms and their safety teams are to be congratulated and urged to continue this fine record in the future.

Pictured front to back are Al Tiberi, Barr and Barr, Inc.; Ralph DiNapoli, William A. Berry & Son, Inc.; Chuck Floyd, C.E. Floyd, Inc.; Don Michaels, Gilbane Building Company; Christian Grant, J.K. Scanlan, Inc.; John Neil, Shaun Carvalho, Shawmut Design and Construction; Dave Matthes, J.F. White Contracting Company and Matthew Consigli, Consigli Construction Co., Inc. and John Gambino, AON Construction Services.