OSHA Region IV Landscaping Stand Down

April 17-18, 2018 from 7-8 am

Industry associations, employers, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration are teaming together to sponsor a one-hour Safety Stand Down to focus and educate workers about hazards which commonly cause injury or death in the landscaping industry. Employers will voluntarily stop work on one of the designated days and conduct safety training on injury prevention with workers at risk of falls and being crushed or hit by objects, two leading causes of industry deaths. Many landscaping workers also risk injury caused by electrical hazards on the job.

The following materials developed by AGC Georgia and OSHA are available for all participating firms in the Safety Stand Down.  

• Landscaping Hazard Alert
• OSHA Hazard Bulletin on Tree Care Work: Falls and Falling Object Hazards
• Fact Sheet: Working Outdoors in Warm Climates
• Hazards of Wood Chippers
• Safety Tips Sheet No. 1: Slip and Trip Injuries
• Safety Tips Sheet No. 2: Reducing the Risk of Lifting Injuries
• Safety Tips Sheet No. 3: Driving Defensively to Reduce the Risk of a Motor Vehicle Crash
• Safety Tips Sheet No. 4: Reducing the Risk of Amputation
• Mowing and Trimming Safety
• Protejase Contra Los Rayos Daninos del sol
• Certificate of Recognition

What is a Stand Down?
Construction companies who know the value of safety training use a Safety Stand Down to stop all work and provide a focused safety toolbox talk meeting on all their jobsites, on one day, at the same time, on one particular topic. This meeting provides effective communication of safety policies, goals and expectations to all levels of a construction team and workplace employees. 

While stand downs are commonly used in the military, they are not new to the construction industry. Fellow AGC chapters across America regularly organize them for their contractor members and many national contractors also include these in their safety program. 

AGC Georgia and our Stand Down partners, OSHA and CompTrust AGC Mutual Captive Insurance Company (MCIC) believe there is tremendous value in committing 5 minutes to one hour of your day's work to talk about safety, leading to increased employee safety morale. Stopping to talk about safety brings it to the forefront of everyone's mind! It is very important to communicate your firm's safety message to front line workers who constitute the largest group of our industry's workforce.

For more information on AGC Georgia's Safety Stand Down Programs, please contact Cherri Watson, AGC Georgia's Director of Safety, Education and Workforce Development at 678-298-4104.