How to Focus on Fall Prevention This National Safety Month

The second week of National Safety Month, created by the National Safety Council and powered by NAHB safety partner Builders Mutual, is all about slips, falls, and trips on jobsites. Falls are the most common jobsite accident in home building and prevention is key to keeping workers safe.

For nearly 13 years, home builders and trade contractors have been required to comply with the Occupational safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Compliance Guidance for Residential Construction. This means builders and trade contractors must use guardrails, personal fall arrest systems like harnesses and lanyards, or safety nets when workers on residential construction sites are exposed to vertical drops of six feet or more.

Last month, NAHB served as a premier partner for OSHA’s annual National Safety Stand-Down for fall prevention and encourages members to hold brief safety stand-downs each week of National Safety Month to promote hazard awareness on their respective jobsites.

A few tips for holding your own fall prevention stand-down include:

1. Provide lunch as an incentive for participation.
2. Use free safety resources from NAHB, including the Fall Protection Toolkit and the Fall Prevention Toolbox Talk Video (embedded below) for ideas.
3. Keep in mind that safety information can be distributed digitally via email and/or text for ease and convenience.

Builders Mutual also has weekly tips and resources throughout the month. One of this week's resources for fall prevention is the "Put Your Guard Up" safety checklist.