The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Construction Sector Council (Sector Council) brings together individuals and organizations to share information, form partnerships, and promote adoption and dissemination of solutions that work. The sector council seeks to facilitate the most important research, understand effective intervention strategies, and learn how to implement those strategies to achieve sustained improvements in workplace practice.

To further these efforts, the Sector Council meets twice a year and continues its work between meetings through work groups established to address priority areas.  There are currently three work groups:

• Preventing Falls
• Preventing Struck-by Injuries/Fatalities
• COVID-19
  • Thursday, May 7, 2020 – Presentation and Discussion
    Discussion on possible Clearinghouse content and establishment of Work Group (audio file) and COVID-19 and Construction Work Group
  • CPWR COVID-19 Construction Clearinghouse
  • COVID-19 Resource Collection Form (Word file)
  • CPWR COVID-19 Exposure Control Planning Tool

NORA Construction Sector Council Meetings

At each meeting, presentations are made on the priority areas and issues facing the industry. To make the materials covered more readily accessible, starting with the November 20-21, 2019 Sector Council meeting, links to publicly available presentations and supporting documentation will be available on this web page.

Tuesday, November 17 and Wednesday, November 18, 2020 – Presentations/Topics

• National Construction Center Update
  • Heat-related deaths among construction workers in the United States
• NIOSH Construction Program Update
• NIOSH Work on Respirators/Masks
• FACE Update
  • Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program
• DSR Fall Safety Research
• COVID-19 Work Group Update
  • Efficacy of face masks, neck gaiters and face shields for reducing the expulsion of simulated cough-generated aerosols
  • White Paper – Proposed Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Verification/Repair Program for School Reopening
• ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear
• OSHA Directorate of Construction Update
  • OSHA’s Variance Program
• MSD Prevention in Construction
• Falls Work Group Update
• Struck-by Work Group Update
  • OSHA Construction Incidents Investigation Engineering Reports
• Ladder Safety Work Research
• Close Call Reporting and Leading Indicators
  • Characterising near misses and injuries in the temporary agency construction workforce: qualitative study approach
• Smoking Cessation and Total Worker Health
  • Managing Cultural Diversity at U.S. Construction Sites: Hispanic Workers’ Perspectives
  • Satisfying the Need for Diversity Training for Hispanic Construction Workers and Their Supervisors at US Construction Workplaces: A Case Study

Thursday, November 21, 2019 – Presentations/Topics

• OSHA Update
  • The OSHA Inspection Process (English and Spanish)
• NIOSH Occupational Exposure Banding Process and e-Tool

Wednesday, November 20, 2019 – Presentations/Topics

• CPWR – National Construction Center Update
• Laborers’ Health and Safety Issues
• Virtual Safety Consultant Update and Small Business Interviews
• FACE Update
• Helmet/Hard Hat Research Update
• NECA and Electrical Safety in Construction
• Aging Workers in Construction
• Recent CPWR Quarterly Date Report (QDR) Highlights
  • 3^rd Quarter 2019 QDR Trends of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Interventions in the Construction Industry
• NIOSH Update
  • Wearable Technologies for Improved Safety and Health on Construction Sites
  • The Safety Climate Assessment Tool (S-CAT) for Construction
  • Preventing Trenching Fatalities
• FACE Report Analysis-Ladder Falls