From the April 2023 Meeting of the AGC San Diego Safety Committee.
Updated: Apr 27
The March 2023 meeting of the AGC San Diego Safety Committee was as well attended as its earlier meeting. As always, the committee discussed a wide variety of safety-related topics.
National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 11-17) In this context, we discussed the Interstate 695 construction work zone incident in Maryland where six workers died when a car plowed through the median. We also discussed a better safety standard that could have prevented the incident, a video of which can be found here: (https://breaking911.com/just-in-maryland-troopers-identify-6-highway-workers-killed-in-work-zone-crash/)
Worker's Memorial Day (Observed on April 28). Worker's Memorial Day is observed in honor and recognition of those who lost their lives while on the job. In addition to injuries or catastrophic incidents, there have been many lives lost due to occupational illnesses and diseases in the U.S. The fallen were family members — spouses, children, siblings, grandparents, friends, and coworkers — and we recognize them and all our fallen workers on this day. On Friday, April 28 at 9 a.m., the Associated General Contractors, San Diego Chapter's Safety Committee, in partnership with Federal OSHA's Region IX, San Diego Area Office will gather for a moment of silence and pay respects to fallen workers. If you are free, please come join AGC San Diego and show your support at 10140 Riverford Road, Lakeside, CA 92040.
National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. This year, the Stand-Down will take place from May 1 through May 5. More information can be found here. OSHA has provided some resources for promotion and handouts for the events.
OSHA Public Service Announcement: OSHA’s video PSA is now available in English and Spanish.
Handouts for Workers:
Hardhat Stickers and Hazard Alert Cards are still available for order from CPWR. Place your orders no later than April 12, 2023.
Construction Suicide Prevention Week 2023. Construction Suicide Prevention Week is from Sept 4-8. More information about it can be found here. Our discussion led committee members to one of our common topics of discussion in recent months: mental health and suicide prevention.
There were good stories shared by the attendees, along with some suggestions. One of the members recounted a story of a suicide incident at their company, how its effects trickled down to others, and how the company helped with the individual’s rehabilitation rehab. Several members suggested that employers are often the last line of support to many people with mental health (as they often have to rely on their company for their finances), and because of this dependence, those companies can play an important role in proving the support needed. Most attendees agreed with a point that was made: “Know your employees to know if there is something wrong” One of the members shared information about VitalCog (https://www.coloradodepressioncenter.org/vitalcog/) and urged members to explore it. Another member shared the story of former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player Andrew Toles and how the Dodgers organization has helped him along his mental wellness journey (https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRcCkRse/)
This month's AGC Safety Committee meeting had two guest speakers. One of the speakers was Aston Ling of Cal/OSHA Consultations in San Diego. Aston talked about the purpose of Cal/OSHA Consultation, which is to provide contractors with their safety programs and to provide the necessary help they may need. He urged members to reach out to the local Cal/OSHA Consultation through several means available to them (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/consultation.html, https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/consultation_offices.html)
). Aston also talked about the high-hazard list and how getting a consultation with Cal/OSHA can help contractors get off the high-hazard list. He also briefly talked about the Cal/OSHA pocket guide, the availability of the latest printed version of it as well as the PDF versions that can be downloaded from the web. He discussed "Golden Gate" and “VPP” programs as well.
Several of the members in attendance gave testimonials about how easy and valuable it was to work with Cal/OSHA Consultation and urged other members to do the same,
The second speaker was Jim Ciandalla of FallTech, who gave a presentation on ANSI Z359.14-2021 standards. He covered a broad review of ANSI Z359.14-2021 (SRLs) changes, compliance timelines and “grandfathering,” new products that meet the new standard, what ANSI compliance means, why ANSI compliance matters, and how to audit your fall protection provider.
A copy of Jim’s presentation along with other documents shared during this meeting can be found at the AGC Safety Commenting Meeting’s Document Portal on Zurel.
The next meeting of the committee will be held Wednesday, May 3rd at 7:00 a.m. at AGC San Diego Chapter, 10140 Riverford Road, Lakeside, CA 92040. If you are an AGC SD member, we urge you to have the safety leaders in our organization join the committee and attend its meetings. The AGCSD Safety Committee meets once a month, at 7 AM, on the first Wednesday of each month.