Want a Drug User on Your Work Team? Drug and alcohol use can create serious drug-related safety concerns in the workplace. Employees who are impaired may have reduced judgment, coordination, concentration, and reaction time, placing themselves and coworkers at risk. A drug-free workplace program helps ensure employees are fit for duty...

Knee Pad Safety Knee pad safety helps protect workers from knee injuries and discomfort caused by frequent kneeling, crawling, and working on hard, rough, or uneven surfaces. Construction work often requires employees to kneel for extended periods. Roofing, concrete finishing, flooring, electrical, plumbing, welding, and mechanical work can place repeated pressure on...

Was It an Accident or Was It an Error? Accident prevention begins with recognizing that many workplace incidents are not truly unpredictable. Warning signs, equipment defects, unsafe conditions, near misses, and procedural failures often appear before a serious event occurs. When these warnings are ignored, a preventable error can become a...

What You Need to Know About Welding & Cutting Welding and cutting operations can expose workers to intense light and radiation, hazardous fumes and gases, sparks, molten metal, electrical hazards, fire, and explosions. Protecting yourself requires understanding these hazards and using the proper engineering controls, safe work practices, and personal protective...

Lead Safety - Working Safely With Lead Lead is a toxic metal that can cause serious health problems when it enters the body. Construction workers may encounter lead when disturbing lead-containing paints, coatings, pipes, solder, or other materials during demolition, renovation, abrasive blasting, welding, cutting, grinding, and similar operations. Lead can accumulate...

Housekeeping on Construction Sites Good housekeeping is an essential part of construction safety. Throughout a project, scrap materials, packaging, tools, cords, hoses, and other debris can quickly accumulate and create hazards. Maintaining an orderly jobsite helps prevent injuries, improve productivity, protect materials and equipment, and keep access routes clear. Housekeeping is everyone's...

Cumulative Trauma Disorders How Can You Prevent Them? Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs), also known as repetitive strain injuries or work-related musculoskeletal disorders, can develop gradually when muscles, tendons, nerves, and joints are repeatedly stressed without adequate recovery. These disorders commonly affect the hands, wrists, arms, elbows, shoulders, neck, and back. Unlike an injury...

Unexpected Hazards in Demolition Work Demolition and remodeling work can expose workers to hazards that are not obvious during normal building use. Hazardous materials may be hidden behind walls, above ceilings, beneath flooring, inside tanks and piping, or within structural materials. Older buildings are particularly likely to contain materials that require...