BTMed Surpasses 50,000 Exams

CPWR’s Building Trades National Medical Screening Program recently reached a huge milestone: conducting 50,000 exams for former construction workers at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear sites since the program began in 1996. These exams, provided to over 25,000 participants, represent a major achievement in monitoring former DOE workers for illnesses related to occupational exposures.

TAUC Podcast Features CPWR’s Work

The Association of Union Contractors’ Talk the TAUC podcast explores the latest labor trends, industry insights, and important issues in the world of construction. In its Science on the Jobsite: Research-Backed Safety in Action episode, released last month, CPWR Executive Director Chris Trahan Cain talks about key issues in construction worker safety and health, including major challenges, suicide and opioids use, disparities in access to technology, the importance of data, and helping small firms improve their practices. 

Resources for Safer Winter Work

The arrival of winter weather is a reminder that working outside in cold, wet, icy, or snowy conditions can expose construction workers to serious hazards such as hypothermia, frostbite, and falls. CPWR’s website offers material to help keep them safe and healthy during the winter months, including our Toolbox Talk, Hazard Alert and infographics on the topic, as well as valuable information from organizations like NIOSH and OSHA. 

Construction Chart Book 7th Edition Now Available

The 39 interactive Data Dashboards in the 7th edition of the Construction Chart Book-The U.S. Construction Industry and Its Workers let users examine key topics in the industry–businesses and owners; employment and income; illnesses and injuries; hazards and exposures; and more–in greater detail than ever before. The Chart Book is also available in its traditional form as a downloadable PDF Reach out to [email protected] with questions, suggestions, and your stories about how the Chart Book has helped you improve worker safety and health. 

Nudging Managers and Workers Towards Better Struck-By Prevention Planning

Despite longstanding efforts to improve safety, struck-by incidents remain a leading cause of construction worker injuries and fatalities. To help address persistent challenges in the awareness and adoption of struck-by prevention practices, a new CPWR study applied behavioral economics --specifically, the use of nudges such as signage/posters, stickers, feedback, and incentives -- to improve decision-making across multiple levels of the construction workforce. A pilot intervention that incorporated nudges into a Struck-by Prevention Planning Program was developed with industry partners and then tested. The study found that low-cost, readily available, scalable nudges, when embedded within planning frameworks and aligned with organizational context (safety climate/culture), can improve safety decision-making.