Florida's Latest Data on Safety, Health & Sustainability • Construction Suicide Prevention Resources • OSHA Update • Safety Means Success Video Campaign • Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) Training Discount

September is Suicide Prevention Month with the week of September 5th-9th observed as Construction Suicide Prevention Week. The Construction Industry is one of the leading industries with employees committing suicide. There is always help available. Educating your employees and offering assistance on this important mental health topic is essential in preserving life. There are multiple resources out there that can assist you, your staff and your families, here is one helpful link.

The safety topic of the month for September is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In 2021, the top 10 OSHA Violations involved topics that included Personal Protective Equipment such as Eye and Face Protection, Respiratory Protection, and Fall Protection. Having the proper PPE in the workplace is essential to performing work safely and efficiently which, will decrease the number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities. Not only is having the proper equipment important, but also knowing how to use the equipment properly, what equipment is available for certain applications, the requirements, and the inspection of the equipment is vital. More and more injuries, illnesses and fatalities occur due to not only lack of using PPE, but lack of proper training.

Let’s work together on providing the necessary training to our workforce to stop the upward trend of fatalities. We are offering discounts of up to 35% off our Personal Protective Equipment Training in September. Call us today to schedule a training class. Nothing is more important than doing our jobs safely, so we go home to our families and loved ones each and every day. And always, remember, safety is no accident!

Transportation and violence account for most public workplace fatalities. Public workers often operate vehicles, such as public protection vehicles or sanitation trucks. In Florida, targeted training on driver safety could save workers’ lives. A certain segment of the public sector workforce may be more at risk to transportation-related fatalities: police officers. Police officers are at high risk because they can be driving for most of their shifts and they could get into high-speed chases. Despite this increased risk, a California study found that only about half of police officers wore seat belts, thus increasing the potential that a crash will be fatal for the officers. According to the study, in 42 percent of vehicle accidents that resulted in officer deaths, the officer was not wearing a seat belt

The opioid epidemic has a direct impact on workplace injuries. If workers are abusing opioids and are under the influence, at work this can lead to an increased risk for accidents. Additionally, a workplace incident can be the impetus for opioid use. Injured workers often need pain relief, but the over-prescription of opioids could lead to addiction. The role of workers’ compensation in the opioid epidemic has captured the attention of employers, insurers, and researchers alike to monitor and reduce opioid prescriptions as well as support those suffering from opioid addiction. Opioids are an effective pain management tool and are necessary for comforting patients in some circumstances. Eliminating all opioid prescriptions is not a good answer. However, given the years of excessive prescription and overreliance on opioids, most states would benefit from a reduction in opioid prescriptions. The WCRI studies 27 states annually for their utilization of opioids in workers’ compensation claims. WCRI uses the industry standard of calculating opioid usage, the morphine milligram equivalent (MME). This metric takes different drug types and dosage levels and creates a comparable metric. This study focuses on workers’ compensation claims that resulted in more than seven days away from work and average the MME associated with the claim after a 24-month lag time. In Florida, about 46 percent of these claims included at least one opioid prescription. The average MME per claim in the state was about 1,100. These values place Florida around the middle of the states studied.

In 2020, a mission-driven group of volunteers from across the construction industry came together with the goal of saving lives. They collaborated to launch the inaugural Suicide Prevention Week for the industry — a week dedicated to raising awareness about the higher-than-average number of suicides in the construction industry, and to providing resources to help prevent those deaths.

Every year, during September — National Suicide Prevention Month — the construction industry will dedicate a week to raising awareness about the unique challenges workers face in construction that lead to suicide and what we can do to prevent it. Together, we can save lives.

Browse the latest OSHA updates below:

Last year, we launched the Safety Means Success Campaign - an educational video series focused on making safety and training a core value in the workplace. Our first video campaign is dedicated to Construction which leads the state in workplace fatalities.

There are two separate showcases: one presents construction safety from the employer's perspective, and the second video series presents construction safety from the employee's perspective. These videos are available as a resource to you in both English and Spanish.

Help us continue sharing the message of #SafetyMeansSuccess—by sharing these videos with your employees, managers, partners and through social media to amplify the message.

Join the Florida Chamber Safety Council as we educate organizations on the OSHA standards and requirements and best safety practices to lower workplace injuries and eliminate fatalities. The Florida Chamber Safety Council is dedicated to keeping Florida's workers safe and has declared September Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Training Month.

The Florida Chamber Safety Council is offering Florida's job creators 25% - 35% off* our Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Training if booked during the month of September. In this course, participants will learn how to identify and select personal protective equipment based on the identified hazards of the application. The curriculum includes construction and general industry applications covering selection criteria, limitations, and maintenance.