Health & Safety

CCA’s Risk Management Committee is the forum through which CCA members collaborate on promoting safety for both our employees and for the general public.  We work on a number of efforts, and encourage feedback on ways in which we can do more.  Some key focus areas include:

OSHA Alliance

CCA entered into an “Alliance” with OSHA on March 13, 2019.  The alliance’s goals are to:

1. Promote a culture of safety throughout Colorado within the infrastructure construction industry, including small businesses and non-English and limited English speaking employees by providing a variety of training opportunities for employers and workers and developing new curricula to address emerging OSHA issues.
2. Promote awareness of OSHA’s rulemakings, enforcement initiatives, and safety campaigns, including an understanding of workers’ rights and employer responsibilities to CCA members.
3. Expand existing relationships between CCA and OSHA Area Offices to address health and safety issues, including making employers/employees aware of training resources and providing technical expertise when appropriate.

More info related to the efforts of the Alliance will be posted in this section of the CCA website.

Information, Training and Safety Campaigns Related to Key Hazards

1. Work Zone Safety

   The date for the 21st annual spring National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is April 20-24, 2020. This event raises awareness across the country in an effort to encourage safe driving through highway work zones, and this year’s theme is “Drive Like You Work Here.

2. Fall Prevention
   

   The date for the 7th annual National Safety Stand-Down to prevent falls is May 4-18, 2020. The Stand-Down was conceived by OSHA in 2014 as part of the National Falls Campaign to raise awareness surrounding the severity of fall hazards in construction and the importance of preventing them.

3. Trench Safety

   The date for the 5th annual Trench Safety Stand-Down is June 15 – 19, 2020. The Trench Safety Stand-Down raises awareness about trenching/excavation safety to reduce—and ideally prevent—fatalities and injuries related to trenching and excavation work.

   CCA has been a proud sponsor of the Colorado Trench Safety Summits in 2018 and 2019, and we look forward to being a sponsor of this year’s on September 30, 2020 at the Adams County Fairgrounds.

   CCA also is a proud supporter of the Think Inside The Box initiative.

4. Silica

   OSHA’s Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction discusses methods of compliance, such as using engineering and work practice controls, assessing exposure levels, respirator use, medical surveillance, and written exposure plans.
   
   CCA hosted an OSHA Presentation on Silica Compliance and Safety Issues on May 10, 2019. For a copy of the presentation, including hotlinks to additional resources, click here.  

5. Soft Tissue Injuries

As our friends at the Colorado Safety Association have informed us, overexertion causes 35% of all work-related injuries and is, by far, the largest contributor to workers’ compensation costs – more than $15 billion, or 25% of the total cost in 2012, according to Injury Facts 2016®.  Here are some helpful resources for learning about and teaching about soft tissue injuries:

• 2020 Presentation from the Colorado Safety Association [PPT]
• 2018 Ergo-X Symposium
• 2007 NIOSH Guidance on Simple Solutions for Ergonomics for Construction Workers
• 2007 NIOSH Ergonomic Guidelines for Manual Material Handling
• 2020 CPWR Ergonomics Training Program for Construction Workers
• Ergonomic Resource Library by Industry … Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation
• The Ergonomics Center … North Carolina State University
• OSHA’s Safety Topic website on Ergonomics
• WorkSafe BC … Ergonomic resources
• State of Washington’s OSHA … Department of Labor & Industries ‘Preventing Sprains & Strains’ resources                              

 

Safety Awards Programs

CCA also promotes safety through awards recognition programs at both the state level and at national level through AGC-America.

1. CCA’s Safety Awards Program and National AGC Safety Awards (NASA) Program are annual programs that present awards to contractor members with exemplary safety records. CCA Safety Awards for exemplary safety records in 2019 were handed out at the 2020 Safety Awards Breakfast on January 31, 2020, For a list of the winners, click here and for pictures from the Awards Breakfast, click here and then click, “more”, click “sessions”, and scroll down about ¾ of the way.
    
2. CCA’s Life Saving Award - 
   2018 Award Winner: Jack Rumsey, DeFalco Construction
    
3. AGC-A’s Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA)

2019 1st Place Award Winning CCA Firms

• Granite Construction Highway & Transportation Division - Over 2,000,000 work hours
• Iron Woman Construction & Environmental Services Heavy Division - Over 500,000 work hours

2019 2nd Place Award Winning CCA Firms

• Fiore & Sons Specialty Division - 350,000-750,000 work hours
• MWH Constructors Utility Infrastructure Division - Over 400,000 work hours

CSEA Safety Management Best Practices from recent years:

• 2018 Safety Management Best Practices
• 2017 Safety Management Best Practices
• 2016 Safety Management Best Practices