Month: June 2018

Active shooter events are occurring on a far too regular basis. The average of active shooters was 6.4 per year in 2000 to 2006, that number has since seen a sharp rise. Between the years of 2007 and 2013, the number almost tripled to an average of 16.4 per year, according to The Department of Homeland Security.

While these events are rare occurrences on a construction site, the reality is, they do occur within the workplace. There is the same risk with other major attacks, such as in the event of vehicle hijacking, which on a construction site, can potentially become fatal.

As it currently stands, there is no law that says construction sites or companies need to put into place protection measures to safeguard their employees from these rare, but potentially fatal events. However, that doesn’t mean that construction companies can’t put into place potentially life-saving protection measures themselves.

The measures could just be simple, like including education on the early warning signs of active shootings, with a guaranteed complaint follow-up system. There are a number of ways that a construction site can approach active shooter protection, including the following four strategies for a safer workplace:

1. ) Work on Correct Worker Response

Response time is one of the biggest shooter prevention strategies, focusing on getting workers to run and hide, and if there is no other possible course of action, to fight. There is already a model in place for active shooter response, both from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). Workers should be educated and trained to follow the recommended actions in the event of an active shooting, which includes three possible reactions:

Response One: Run from the event and find a safe location and call for help.

Response Two: In an event where running is not possible, find the best hiding location nearby and call for help.

Response Three: Use whatever is available to fight the attacker until the threat is gone.

Running drills to practice these emergency responses is one of the best ways to get workers accustomed to what they would need to do in a real scenario.

2.) Understand the Risks

Very often, a potential active shooter will draw attention to themselves before a shooting occurs. Employers and employees are in a prime position to be able to see any changes in their behavior first-hand and address the changes quickly. Incidents that it’s important to be on the lookout for, and address, can include:

• Violent talk or acts of violent behavior, including aggression
• Signs of depression/paranoia
• Sudden habit or hygiene changes
• Threats or threatening gestures and remarks
• Changes in performance at work
• Harm inflicted to themselves or another person
• Destruction of property
• Self-destructive tendencies.

It’s also crucial to be on the lookout for potential workplace security risks, areas where individuals may be able to trespass or think they can, and any warning signs from recently terminated employees.

3.) Be Prepared to Face Threats

Knowing the risks is vital, but so is being ready to face them if it’s ever needed. Establishing a Threat Response Team, that is able to actively aid law enforcement in the local area, and who understand the protocols for emergency response, can greatly aid the workplace.

With a Threat Response Team, employees have somewhere to turn to for advice, information, or even first-aid supplies. It also means that there is a group of people to deal with potential warning signs through investigation.

4.) Work with Law Enforcement

Law enforcement in the local area will be able to provide a wealth of advice on training, protocols, and responses, and also give feedback on performance. They will be the main responder to any reported active shooting, so it’s beneficial to build a relationship with them as early on as possible.

Do you work on a construction site or run a construction company, and are worried about the threat of active shooters? Talk to us today to learn more about essential insurance for a safer workplace and how to get better coverage.

Working in construction has undergone a dramatic change over the last 60 years. Since the 1960s and 1970s, when safety wasn’t the highest priority, construction work has transformed by introducing a whole host of new safety precautions.

However, whilst the precautions account for a large number of the risks associated with working in construction, they haven’t eliminated every danger from the industry. In 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 937 workers were killed in construction, accounting for 21.4% of the full total of worker fatalities in that year. This number is higher than in any other industry sector and marks the highest number of construction fatalities since 2008.

Breaking Down the Statistics

While the full number of fatalities is shocking, when you break it down, the statistics become even more alarming. Those 937 fatalities mean that 18 people a week never came home from work. Tragedies that didn’t have to happen.

To combat the unnecessarily high number of fatalities, more focus needs to be directed towards improving safety conditions – more so than what has already been done. If safety measures aren’t constantly improving, then there is the risk of bouncing back to the days of incredibly poor safety measures.

A Risk That is Rising

The need for heightened measures for safety becomes even more critical when accounting for the increase in workers within the construction sector. 2015 saw the highest level of construction employment since 2008, with 75% of firms having plans to extend their workforce.

The combination of higher amounts of work and increased wages in the construction industry, make improving safety a top priority. This is especially prominent as the heightened demand has led firms to hire workers that are not as qualified or are experienced primarily in different industries.

To combat the growing issue of risk for construction workers, education and training on a continuous basis have become very important.

Construction Training

One of the most important aspects of modern construction safety training is centered around the ‘Construction Focus Four’. The Construction Focus Four are hazards that have been identified as the most prominent by OSHA. These consist of:

• Caught-in/between – accounting for 67 construction fatalities in 2015
• Electrocution – accounting for 81 construction fatalities in 2015
• Struck-by – accounting for 90 construction fatalities in 2015
• Falls – accounting for 364 construction fatalities in 2015

With the vast majority of the accidents, 602, being a direct result of the Construction Focus Four, the emphasis is being put on continuous training – reaching as many small-to-medium sized construction contractors as possible. By directing training at small-sized contractors and subcontractors, the aim is to assist those who otherwise might not have ample resources to do so themselves.

Reducing Risks Through Ongoing Training

Training that continues into the workplace and beyond is of the upmost importance when reducing safety risks. This includes new-employee/experienced-employee mentoring and buddy systems, that can help all construction workers at every level.

Being aware of what other workers are doing and responding with help and assistance is key in making sure that everyone stays safe on the job. Certain programs have been developed to help enforce this through encouragement and rewards, such as the ‘Thumbs Up for Safety’ program.

The program introduces the ‘Countdown to Safety’, which is designed to help workers identify potential hazards and address them. These engaging programs go one step further than the standard rulebook, helping employees to work in a lower risk environment and construction firms put safety as a top priority.

There is still a lot of work to be done, but it seems that the construction industry is starting to make serious positive changes.

Interested in topics about health and safety in construction, and want to learn more about health insurance in the construction industry? Contact us at any time for any insurance questions you might have.