One of the key components to building a proper safety culture is first building awareness. That awareness is built through training, tool box talks, and jobsite experience. The good news is that construction companies don’t need to come up with safety topics and information by themselves, there are actually a lot of fantastic resources available online and many of them are free.
Read moreNewly Formed ABC Tech Alliance to Connect Contractors to Construction Technology
via ABC
Construction technology has come a long, long way in the past decades. There are now hundreds of construction-specific apps available, ranging from project management, to compliance and reporting, to photo documentation, to estimating, and many more. At times, it can be overwhelming keeping up with all of the available options in the market, especially for smaller to medium sized construction businesses that don’t have a dedicated technology team or budget.
Read moreA List of All of the OSHA Required Construction Training Topics
A snippet from Safasite’s guide “How to Comply with OSHA Safety Training Standards”
As all construction professionals should know, OSHA requires formalized training on various construction tasks on an annual or periodic basis. It can be difficult to locate and document all of the requirements, but the team at Safesite has just released a handy guide on their website to make it a whole lot easier.
Safesite’s article titled “How to Comply with OSHA Safety Training Standards” covers all of the OSHA training requirements, not just the construction standards, but it’s organized so you can jump to the most pertinent topics.
In addition to listing the specific regulation standards that OSHA requires training on, the guide also covers proper documentation and instruction requirements, training tips, and OSHA’s Outreach Training Program.
Keep in mind that these training requirements are on the Federal level, so your state may have even more strict training requirements. For example, California requires additional training above and beyond Federal and Maryland has tougher standards for heavy equipment training, according to the guide.
In total, there are 19 construction tasks that require initial training and annual refresher training, with 2 of those coming from the OSHA 1910 general industry standards (Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records – 1910.1020 and Portable Fire Extinguishers – 1910.57). One of the 19 standards, Operation of Powered Platforms – 1926.66 requires bi-annual training for those that use them.
An additional 28 construction tasks are required to be completed in initial training and periodic or as-needed follow-up training. 4 of those 28 come from the OSHA 1910 general industry standards, including Aerial Lifts – 1910.67, Portable Fire Extinguishers – 1910.157, Servicing of Multi-Piece and Single-Piece Rim Wheels – 1910.177, and Toxic and Hazardous Substances – 1910 Subpart Z. Another regulation outside of the construction standards is the General Duty Clause, which covers New Employee Orientation.
For the full list and even more helpful information about safety training requirements, check out the full guide here: safesitehq.com/osha-safety-training
Why and How You Should Document Near Miss Construction Safety Incidents
When it comes to safety on the jobsite, most contractors focus on widely accepted performance indicators like an experience modification rating (EMR) or the count of their OSHA recordable incidents. While these are important overall numbers, ignoring near miss incidents can be a costly mistake for the future.
Read moreSafesite Now Offering Its Safety Inspection App for Free
If you have a safety meeting or perform an inspection and you can’t find any documentation of it, did it ever really happen? Well, sure it did, but it definitely helps to keep proper records for things as important as safety for reference later on or to prove to a government agency like OSHA that your company is being proactive. One way to keep proper records is to use an app, and Safesite has just made that easier as they now offer a free version of their inspection platform.
Read more
Shane is the creator of Construction Junkie and an active construction project manager. In his career, he has managed interior remodel projects, site development, construction safety, governmental project compliance, and facility maintenance. He has a strong passion for construction technology and safety, as well as sharing the knowledge or insights he has gained throughout his career.