What is Safety Week?
Construction Safety Week started in 2014 with 40 national and global construction firms from the Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI) group and the Incident and Injury Free (IIF) CEO Forum. The goal is to inspire everyone in the industry to be leaders in safety by sticking to the following guidelines:
• Thank workers for supporting safety and recognizing their efforts to be injury-free
• Increase awareness of the importance of being committed to safety, every day
• Encourage everyone to share best practices and to work together to strengthen the industry’s safety culture
• Conduct onsite safety awareness activities to support education
Safety Week aims to strengthen the industry’s safety culture and performance by sharing best practices, tools and resources.
Connected. Supported. Safe.
This year, the Construction Safety Week forum theme is “Connected. Supported. Safe.” Being connected gives workers a collective sense of strength because they are building a stronger, more robust, safer industry together. Supported means fellow colleagues are helping each other stay present and focused on the job, regardless of the role or workplace setting. It means the industry as a whole is equipped with the resources and support they need to work safely every day. Safety is a priority and obligation for all frontline workers. It is a shared responsibility to look after the well-being and safety of everyone on every jobsite, which empowers everyone to do their best work and return home safely every day.
Fall Protection: A Top Priority
The OSHA National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction will also be held during this same week, raising fall hazard awareness across the country to stop fall fatalities and injuries. Falls are the top cause of construction fatalities and account for one-third of on-the-job injury deaths in the industry. Each year in the U.S., more than 200 construction workers are killed, and over 10,000 are seriously injured by falls.
RK and HSE Department Promote Safety Week
RK, under the direction of the HSE Department, is participating in Construction Safety Week by focusing on fall prevention and onsite safety across all business units. The goal of this week is to build up awareness to prevent fall injuries from roofs, ladders and leading edges by
encouraging every RK employee to:
• PLAN ahead to get the job done safely.
• UTILIZE safety resources when planning.
• PROVIDE the right equipment.
• TRAIN everyone to use the equipment safely.
Construction Safety Week allows the industry to reengage workers to remember the importance of safety. Each year there is a theme or specific topic, however, safety must be practiced everyday. The Focus Four are four leading hazards in the construction industry: falls, caught in or between, struck by, or electrocution. Being trained and recognizing these hazards can help prevent work-related accidents and possible fatalities.
RK’s number one core value is safety and empowers employees to take responsibility for their safety and for those working alongside them. The company’s number one priority is always ZERO injuries.
RK is proud to be accredited as an OSHA VPP Star Worksite and OSHA VPP Star Mobile Workforce, ranking in the 0.03% of U.S. companies with VPP certification at any level and as the 53rd U.S. company to earn Star Mobile Workforce status.
Written by Ileana Morales
Connected.Supported.Safe., accessed April 28, 2022, Construction Safety Week
Construction Focus Four Training, accessed April 28, 2022, OSHA
National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, accessed April 28, 2022, OSHA
Voluntary Protection Programs, accessed April 28, 2022, OSHA