ConstructConnect Blog

After five consecutive years of increases in the number of construction worker deaths, construction industry fatalities in private industry fell 2% from 2016 to 2017, according to the 2017 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released yesterday.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a silent killer, making it one of the most dangerous threats on the construction site. CO is odorless, meaning that whether it’s present on its own or among other “regular” gases and smells, it’s utterly undetectable.

According to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), more people than ever are choosing to work in the construction industry. In fact, the AGC has found that construction employment is at a 10-year high, with more than 280,000 new jobs added in the past year alone.

Safety is always the number one priority in any construction project. Anyone that tells you differently hasn't been in the business long enough. In construction, a safe site is a happy and productive one. At the end of the day, ensuring everyone's safety will keep employee morale up, costs down, and ensure deadlines are met efficiently. It's best to think of safety as the umbrella that every other component of a job falls under. The principles of safety can be complex when you break them down, but there are ways to simplify the goal of a safe and friendly job site.

Developing effective communication is essential to the success of any work environment. Communication is especially crucial on construction sites where safety, productivity, and efficiency are of the highest priority. To make sure your construction site is as safe as possible, follow these simple tips to keep your crew consistently on the same page so they can function as a cohesive team.

When it comes to high-risk work like construction and manufacturing, crises are bound to arise. Employees can find themselves in hazardous situations with no easy means of communicating their peril to other workers.

In light of National Work Zone Awareness Week, we found it pertinent to address the proper procedure for redirecting traffic and utilizing proper signage in work zones. Due to the many dangers on the road, and especially on highways, orange cones are simply not enough.

No matter which construction site you visit or what the job entails, there are going to be plenty of potential hazards to be found. It’s just part of the job, frankly, and those working on construction sites get used to it. However, even a minor accident can easily result in extensive, expensive damages, not to mention the potential for workplace injury.

One in five Americans struggles with a mental health condition. Society has created a schema of those at risk for psychiatric disorders— women, teenagers, abuse victims and so on. It's not unusual for this schema to give less regard to men — even with changing mental health initiatives — because many people assume men are stronger and less vulnerable to mental health struggles.

As a construction worker, you can get so comfortable with your daily routine that it's easy to forget the risks associated on the jobsite. In high-risk jobs, like construction, becoming numb to the inherent dangers of the jobs can prove to be fatal.