Work Zone Awareness Week

Late April marked National Work Zone Awareness Week, to coincide with the uptick in roadway construction zones across the country as the weather warms up.

 

Remember to always respect work zones, following along with road barriers and signage. While we've all had the frustrating feeling of seeing a construction zone up ahead, there are lives at stake when we don't comply.

According to the National Safety Council (source) there were almost 900 fatalities and about 40,000 injuries in work zones in the year 2023. All preventable!

 

There are very few, if any, activities we do on a daily basis that are more dangerous than driving, and the risk is elevated in work zones. Pay attention, follow the signs, and keep everyone safe. 

 

 

Trenching Incident Claims a Life

We tend to hammer a lot on trenching and shoring safety, but sometimes we worry it still doesn't get enough attention. So we wanted to highlight an incident shared by OSHA that claimed the life of one worker and left another with serious injuries. Overall the company involved was fined $4.6 million.

The workers were actually not IN the trench at the time of the incident but working close by when the trench collapsed causing them to fall inside and become trapped. This incident underlines a common misconception: even if you don't have employees inside a trench, you still need to ensure the trench is not in danger of collapse using all the skills a trenching competent person would normally use: soil classification, controls implementation, and constant site inspection.

Here's the report from OSHA to read more.