The Construction Collaborative Group

Each year Liberty Mutual Insurance publishes a report to identify which types of injuries are costing the most in different industries. This is a little different that ranking incidents in terms of number of fatalities or days away from work. What it actually shows is that falls (including falls to lower levels and falls to the same level), overexertion, and struck-by incidents are responsible for 73.8% of all injury costs in the construction industry. Any thoughts?

I am working on digesting all 13 pages of the newly proposed OSHA heat standard. A few things that jump out at me that I have not heard people discussing (yet) are as follows:

1. This is being issued as a single standard that applies to all industries (General, Construction, Agriculture, Maritime) as opposed to issuing several different industry standards like they did with silica

2. It follows the modern OSHA trend of requiring a written exposure control plan (similar to the newer confined space and silica standards)

3. It (finally) discusses the use of WBGT devices to monitor heat exposure and pegs the levels back to the (very old) NIOSH document that should have been adopted as a standard decades ago (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature)

4. It does not include discussion or suggestions for how multi employer worksites (such as construction projects) should be handled

Does anyone have experience using burglar bars at skylights? I convinced a client to use them as a benefit to the building owner and doubled up to use them as fall protection during construction. We see many falls through skylights during both construction and building maintenance because most people do not realize that the skylights are not designed to withstand a person falling on them.

We had to have them custom made, which was not difficult, but I am wondering if anyone knows of standard sizes/configurations that might be available.

Great new web site is now live as a resource for information about construction helmets. Many companies are considering the switch from the old hardhats we have used for decades to the newer style construction helmets that can provide more protection to the head during a fall. Check out the new site here:

H2H Home - Hardhats to Helmets