Use New NAHB Jobsite Video Resources During National Preparedness Month
This post was updated Sept. 8.
September is National Preparedness Month, an official U.S. government awareness campaign on the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time.
This year's theme is Prepare to Protect, highlighting how preparing for disaster is an act of protecting those that you love. With hurricane season in full swing, now is a great time to prepare to protect home building workers and jobsites.
NAHB has just released two new video toolbox talks that directly address jobsite preparedness and response to natural disasters: Jobsite Disaster Preparedness and Jobsite Disaster Response.
Disaster Preparedness
Preparing a jobsite before a disaster plays a vital role in ensuring that employers and workers have the necessary equipment, know where to go, and know how to keep themselves and the project safe. All of this should be part of a site's Emergency Action Plan, required by OSHA on certain sites.
Watch the video toolbox talk below for tips on jobsite preparation (also available in Spanish) and visit the video page to download a one-page fact sheet.
Disaster Response
When responding to and recovering from natural disasters, workers can face a multitude of unique hazards in working in a post-disaster environment. Have emergency supplies, proper personal protective equipment, and communications devices, such as radios, ready before the disaster strikes.
Once you return to the jobsite, be on the lookout for the most common hazards:
- Contaminated flood waters
- Downed trees
- Exposed electrical wires
- Damaged and unstable structures
- Wildlife interactions
- Household hazardous materials such as asbestos or lead
Watch the video toolbox talk below for disaster response and jobsite clean-up tips (also available in Spanish) and visit the video page to download a one-page fact sheet.
Latest from NAHBNow
Facing persistent inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve unanimously decided at its September policy meeting to raise the federal funds rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4%.
Overall housing starts decreased 2.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Latest Economic News
Single-family housing starts rebounded in August, but production remains down 4.7% year to date as builders contend with rising construction costs, lot and labor shortages, and economic uncertainty.
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its September policy meeting, bringing the target range to 3.75% to 4%.
Higher mortgage rates, worsening labor shortages and rising material costs are weighing on builder sentiment.