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About Us

About The National Campaign To Prevent Falls In Construction

The Falls Campaign began in 2012 with NORA (English), NIOSH (English, Español), CPWR (English, Español), and OSHA (English) seeking a way to raise awareness of the fact that falls are the top cause of construction fatalities and account for one-third of on-the-job injury deaths in the industry, with a disproportionate number of those occurring in the residential sector. Each year in the U.S. more than 200 construction workers are killed and over 10,000 are seriously injured by falls.

The goal of this national campaign is to prevent fatal falls from roofs, ladders, and scaffolds by encouraging residential construction contractors to:

  • PLAN ahead to get the job done safely.
  • PROVIDE the right equipment.
  • TRAIN everyone to use the equipment safely.

Contractors, workers — all industry stakeholders — can help prevent falls and save lives by joining the Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction. Read the How-To Guide for Partners Joining the Falls Campaign (English) for background information on developing your own Safety Pays, Falls Cost campaign in your community. If you’re interested in becoming a campaign partner, check out our partner page here.

In 2014, organizers added the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction as the main event associated with the Falls Campaign.

About the Safety Stand-Down

In a construction setting, the term “safety stand-down” is used to describe a wide variety of activities where normal work is paused and the entire site focuses on a particular safety issue. While some employers may use stand-downs to call attention to specific hazards present on their site as an intervention, the Campaign has adopted the use of the stand-down to draw attention to fall hazards in a nationwide week-long event.  It’s an opportunity for employers to pause work and have a conversation with workers about fall hazards, protective methods, and the company’s safety policies, goals and expectations.  This should also be an opportunity for workers to talk to management about fall hazards they see.

Who is it for?

Participation began with, but is not limited to, the construction industry, and no business is too large or small to participate.  In previous years, we’ve had participants in residential construction, commercial construction, industrial construction, mining, general industry, and more.  Learn more about past participants through our evaluation efforts.

When can I participate?

The 2023 Stand-Down was May 1-5, but you can hold your own stand-down anytime and participation is encouraged year-round!  All of our Stand-Down resources are available on this site (check out our planning and promotion resources), and the document 10 Ways to Keep Your Fall Prevention Program Alive All Year Long (English) has ideas for those who want refresher activities to emphasize the message.

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