Author: Nazia Shah

On February 6, the Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, appointed nine members to serve on ACCSH, a continuing advisory body established by statute that provides advice and assistance in construction standards and policy matters to the Assistant Secretary. ACCSH will consist of nine members – three members representing employers, three members representing employees, and three members representing the public. Each member was selected on the basis of their professional and technical competence and experience as construction safety and health professionals. The following is the list of the newly appointed members: ACCSH will meet virtually from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., ET, Tuesday…

One way to recommit to safety and health is to recognize workers when they meet or exceed safety and health goals. This year, Safe + Sound Week is August 10–16, 2026, with a focus on safety and health recognition programs.  Safe + Sound will encourage organizations to highlight the practices of employees who get it right. Recognition allows employers to demonstrate leadership in their safety and health strategies by highlighting progress, engaging in their workforce, and bringing attention to most important issues in their workplace. Safety recognition programs motivate companies, teams, and workers to keep safety front and center. Take…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced the publication of a new Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB): Hearing Protector Fit Testing (HPFT): Ensuring Appropriate Noise Protection at Work. HPFT is a critical advancement in workplace hearing conservation and is recognized as a best practice. This new guidance describes how HPFT can be used to ensure that workers can achieve appropriate noise reduction with hearing protectors at work without interfering with their ability to hear important sounds around them (e.g., communication, warning signals). While HPFT is not mandated in OSHA regulations, the document gives employers and employees an…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is launching a new initiative focused on preventing electrical incidents resulting in injuries and fatalities. The Electrical Roll-Up Initiative: To support this, OSHA has developed a range of resources designed to educate workers on effective basic electrical safety practices to reduce the risk of incidents. These materials include: If you participate, please consider sharing your story on social media using the hashtag #ElectricalRollUp to help amplify the message. For more information please visit the OSHA webpage and OSHA publications. Contact Kevin Cannon for more information.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published an updated OSHA-NIOSH Hazard Alert on Worker Exposure to Silica during Countertop Manufacturing, Finishing, and Installation, including: Contact Kevin Cannon for more information.

On February 24, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) issued two resources related to its Safety Champions Program (SCP) – a Step Guide and Fact Sheet to better understand the program structure and benefits at each level. The SCP is intended to help employers develop and implement an effective safety and health program with the goal of preventing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. The program incorporates seven core elements of Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs: The program has three self-guided steps, which participants may work through at their own pace: Upon successful completion of the Advanced Step, participating employers will…

On January 21, AGC of America, at their semi-annual Construction Safety & Health Conference, recognized three members for their decades-long contribution to the safety and health profession, the association, and its safety and health committee. Kevin Moorhead, Safety Director at The Korte Company, was presented with the Outstanding Service and Dedication to Safety and Health award by his close friend and peer Tim Stout, Corporate Safety Director at Caddell Construction. “This individual has worked with The Korte Company based out of Highland, Illinois for the past 37 years. He became the Safety Director for Korte in 1992. For the past…

On March 4, AGC hosted its first virtual, quarterly, Safety & Health Town Hall of 2026. The session was focused on work zone safety ahead of National Work Zone Awareness Week – April 20-24. View the Recording | Download the Slides The purpose of AGC’s Safety & Health Town Halls is to communicate key safety and health issues and challenges, as well as discuss enforcement, regulatory, and outreach activities at the national and local levels. Looking Ahead – 2026 AGC Safety & Health Town Hall Schedule (click on the links to register) Contact Nazia Shah for more information.

On February 19, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Census of Fatal Occupational Injury (CFOI) data for 2024. The construction-specific data shows that fatalities in the construction industry declined from 1,075 in 2023 to 1,034 in 2024, a drop of nearly 4%. The fatal injury incidence rate also declined from 9.6 per 100,000 workers in 2023 to 9.2 in 2024. These are particularly encouraging trends considering the increase in employment and the retirement of large numbers of experienced workers. Falls, slips, and trips, which have historically been the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry also declined from…

In addition to the outstanding, contractor-focused content delivered at the January 2026 AGC Surety Bonding and Construction Risk Management Conference, AGC also provided two recordings of bonus content. One recording – Avoiding Death by a Thousand Claims: How Small Losses Can Bankrupt Projects – offered proactive strategies to address “nuisance” losses like theft, temporary power failures, water intrusions, or weather-damaged materials, which can erode profitability over time. The second recording – Demystifying Weather Risk for Construction – discussed how parametric weather insurance can offer crucial financial support, filling important gaps left by traditional policies that often don’t cover the everyday weather impacts that delay projects, such as heavy…