Safety Campaign Targets Residential Construction

Spring is often the time when new residential construction projects begin. This year, it is also the time when people working on those new homes and apartment buildings are being reminded to take work site safety seriously.

The Department of Environment and Labour, the Workers' Compensation Board, and the Nova Scotia Construction Safety Association are joining forces to target businesses involved in residential construction with a new awareness campaign aimed at reducing workplace injuries and deaths.

"It is still early in the construction season, and already this year we've had to deal with a number of complaints and accidents related to falls at construction work sites. Each year, more than 500 workers are injured in falls. This is unacceptable," said Environment and Labour Minister Kerry Morash.

Direct mailouts to businesses, increased inspections, and other promotions are all intended to help increase awareness and change attitudes of employees and employers in the industry. Some topics addressed will include electrical safety, training, scaffolding, and personal protective equipment, including fall protection.

As part of the awareness campaign, Environment and Labour staff conducted 49 inspections of residential construction sites in the Halifax Regional Municipality on May 11 and 12. In those two days, 95 orders were issued for violations mostly relating to fall protection, scaffolding, and first aid.

"There's still a mentality that injuries and fatalities happen to other people. But the statistics tell a different story. And so do injured workers and the families who have lost someone or experienced a life-altering injury. A safety-first attitude saves lives," said Mr. Morash.

Mr. Morash said fall protection systems work. On April 18, he said, an employee fell while working on the 15th floor of an apartment building project in Halifax. The employee was using an appropriate fall arrest system; he suffered a minor injury, but survived because he was using his personal protective equipment correctly.

"The same training, safe work practices, and attitude that saved this employee can eliminate hundreds of falls in work sites across the province," said Mr. Morash.