Safety Thursday and Safety Everyday started as the result of The New York Times expose' on safety in the construction industry. David Barstow and The Times did an outstanding job researching and reporting the state of safety in the construction industry. It got my blood boiling. Read the following articles and I'm sure it will get yours boiling too.
I've been working in the AEC industry just long enough to still be indignant about the the risk workers must face. Many people are resigned to constuction work being risky. I'm not resigned. Far riskier industries have nearly eliminated deaths and injuries. It's time the AEC industry does the same.
New York Times series on safety When Workers Die, by David Barstow
- A Trench Caves In; a Young Worker Is Dead. Is It a Crime?, 12-21-2003
- This is a story about the death of an inexperienced worker who was put in a position that he was not able to assess as unsafe. He was buried alive. This was not the first death at this contractor. OSHA ruled that the company willfully ignored safety, then bargained that determination away leaving the family in the position where it is now struggling to be compensated.
- U.S. Rarely Seeks Charges for Deaths in Workplace, 12-22-2003
- "A simple lack of guts and political will" keeps OSHA from meting out consequences consistent with the severity of safety infractions.
- California Leads in Making Employer Pay for Job Deaths, 12-23-2003
- The story of an illegal alien who died while doing what anyone else would have done at the time brings about a response from California's OSHA that sets higher standards for management to act in a responsible manner towards the risks in the workplace.
Safety Thursday
Work Injury Free
This is a chronological listing of the Safety Thursday postings. Feel free to link to them and leave comments. I check them regularly.
Safety Everyday