CPWR UPDATE
From the Desk of Chris Trahan Cain, Executive Director

January 2025

Small Study Grant Funding Reopens

CPWR’s Small Study Program provides up to $30,000 to investigate promising research and practical initiatives. We are currently giving priority to studies aimed at:


  • Reaching high-risk groups, including small employers (those with 19 or fewer employees), vulnerable workers, and those in residential and light commercial construction.
  • Developing interventions that can be immediately applied on the job.
  • Engaging stakeholders in partnerships that identify and overcome barriers to adopting good practices.
  • Translating research into practice and ensure widespread dissemination.
  • Promoting proven safety practices to small employers for immediate impact.


A study may be proposed at any time and we are happy to discuss ideas prior to official submission. For more information, including how to apply, visit the Small Study Program on CPWR’s website.

TOOLS FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH

Nanomaterials Data Dashboard Updated

CPWR’s Nanomaterials Data Dashboard has been updated and now offers information on more than 950 construction products containing engineered nanomaterials. One in a collection of 31 interactive tools that examine important topics in construction, this dashboard draws on the eLCOSH Nano Inventory to provide key details, including the types of nanomaterials contained, product category, and use by trade.  


Developmental Evaluation Helps CPWR Improve Program for Manual Materials Handling

Our free Best Built Plans program helps contractors engage in pre-job planning and train workers to reduce soft tissue injuries from manual materials handling. It offers a package of tools and resources developed through several rounds of research and evaluation. Researchers recently conducted a developmental evaluation of Best Built Plans, using their findings to update and improve the program. Learn more about that developmental evaluation process and the lessons learned in the new report.

 

Sign Up for NABTU/CPWR Newsletter on Preventing Deaths from Suicide and Opioids

Next month NABTU and CPWR will publish the fourth issue of our newsletter to help the construction industry prevent suicides and deaths from opioids -- REASON (Resources and Effective programs Addressing Suicides and Opioids Now). Each issue of REASON provides solutions, important research, and free resources that highlight these issues and the positive steps being taken to address them. Read past issues and subscribe now.

RESEARCH NEWS

Designing a High-accuracy, Fast-response Electrical Work Zone Alerting System.

Morteza Nazari-Heris, CPWR Small Study, 2024. Read the full report and the Key Finding.

NEWS & EVENTS

Webinars

The construction painters’ exposure to chemical mixtures, health implications, and opportunities for disease prevention

Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. ET (1 hour)


This webinar will cover the latest findings from researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell on the multiple hazardous chemical exposures of painters. They will share exposure data and outcomes as well as recommendations for exposure reduction based on the data. The researchers will also introduce their newly funded continuation project, Developing a National Roadmap to Reduce Chemical Exposures and Associated Health Risks among Construction Painters.

 

Presenters:

  • Dhimiter Bello, ScD, MSc, Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Anila Bello, ScD, MSc, Research Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell

 

Click here to register and submit questions in advance



Work Should Not Hurt! A participative ergonomics program from New Zealand

Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 2:00 p.m. ET (1 hour)


Join Kiwi construction ergonomists Chris Polaczuk and Dr. Steve Kolose for a look at their Work Should Not Hurt program -- an innovative safety and health program from New Zealand that is centered on the worker. The program, focused on ergonomics, is unique in that it generates awareness, research and interventions from tradespeople themselves. Learn about the library of resources, participatory research guiding the project, and how the program has been used in New Zealand to take on soft tissue injuries in an industry with a macho culture.


Presenters:

  • Chris Polaczuk, Ergonomics Programme Manager, Construction Health and Safety NZ
  • Steve Kolose, PhD, Principal Ergonomist, Construction Health and Safety NZ


Click here to register and submit questions in advance



Colorectal Cancer Screening Saves Former Worker Lives

Wednesday, February 12, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

(Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Former Worker Program)


The Former Worker Program provides free ongoing medical screening examinations to all former Department of Energy workers -- including Federal employees, contractors, and subcontractors -- who may be at risk for occupational diseases. One part of the FWP is CPWR’s Building Trades National Medical Screening Program (BTMed), which arranges screenings for construction workers previously employed at DOE nuclear weapons sites. This webinar will provide information about the importance and impact of colorectal cancer screenings, including risk factors and trends in these screenings; screening approaches and what happens if test is abnormal; and the impact of screenings done via the FWP programs. 

 

Presenters: 

  • Marianne Cloeren, MD, MPH, Medical Director, BTMed, and Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine
  • John Dement, Ph.D., CIH, Industrial hygiene and epidemiologic consultant, BTMed, and Professor Emeritus, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Duke University

 

Register for this webinar

CPWR in the News

Fewer California workers were dying on the job. Then fentanyl happened, CalMatters, 12/11/24


Local program working to address high suicide rates among construction workers, WBNS (OH), 12/27/24


OSHA finalizes PPE standard for construction, Construction Dive, 12/16/24

Partner News

Construction Management Program for Construction Tradespeople

CPWR research found that one career path for older construction workers who developed work-related pain and disability is to stay in the industry in jobs like estimating, scheduling, or management. NABTU partners with Rowan University to prepare members for jobs in construction management. In addition to its established bachelors’ degree, it now offers a Construction Management certificate program to trades professionals who are looking to develop the leadership and technical skills needed to plan, execute, monitor, and control the construction process. Conducted entirely online, the program enables students to earn three stackable certificates that collectively fulfill core bachelor’s requirements in construction management and they can receive credit for prior experiences and college-level skills developed outside the classroom. NABTU members receive a reduced tuition rate, and the Trades Futures program provides some first-year union member students with scholarship funds. Learn more at go.rowan.edu/stackablecertificates.

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