From the Desk of Chris Trahan Cain, Executive Director | | | Data Center Releases Construction Chart Book 7th Edition | | |
For more than 30 years, the Construction Chart Book-The U.S. Construction Industry and Its Workers has provided unparalleled information to people across the industry. The 7th edition, released earlier this week, continues that tradition, with the most comprehensive data available on economic, demographic, employment/income, education/training, and safety and health issues. The latest Chart Book offers both the full edition as a downloadable PDF and a series of 39 Interactive Dashboards featuring key findings that change based on user selections. The dashboards will be updated when new data becomes available. Reach out to [email protected] with questions, suggestions, and your stories about how the Chart Book has helped you improve worker safety and health.
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New Data Bulletin Examines Construction Workers’ Medical Expenditures
The October issue of CPWR’s Data Bulletin examines medical expenditures among construction workers by demographics, worker characteristics, insurance status, health status, and usual source of care. This issue shows, as does a new interactive Data Dashboard, that construction workers who were 65 or older, white, non-Hispanic, and female had on average higher annual annual expenditures than all construction workers.
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CPWR Evaluates Noise Training Program
Hearing loss is a serious problem for construction workers, with three out of every four being overexposed to noise on a jobsite. To address this hazard, CPWR developed its Construction Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention Training Program in 2018 following a multi-union study that explored existing training efforts, knowledge, and solutions. We have just released a follow-up study that assesses, through trainer and trainee evaluations, the program’s usability and effectiveness.
Participate in CPWR Heat Safety Research
The multiple efforts to develop standards to address occupational heat stress highlight heat's impact on construction workers, including increased risk of traumatic injuries like falls, decreased physical work capacity, and life-threatening illness in the form of heatstroke. CPWR has begun a study to better understand the impacts of heat stress and to develop effective strategies for managing it, and we are looking for contractors to participate in the research. Learn more from this flyer.
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Tuesday, October 7 at 12:30 p.m. ET (1 hour)
MATES in Construction: The Role of Research in the Evolution of a Workplace Suicide Prevention Program
MATES in Construction is an industry-based workplace suicide prevention program that was prompted by data in 2006 showing high suicide rates among construction workers in Queensland, Australia. Since MATES’s initiation in 2008, research has been core to its mission, providing a way to continuously improve the program and prevent workplace suicide. Following a description of the program and the role of research, the webinar will provide an overview of MATES-related research, in three broad categories:
- “Foundational research” gleans insights into the “state of affairs” regarding suicide and mental health among construction workers and provides justification and context for the program;
- “Evaluation research” investigates MATES program implementation and/or effectiveness; and
- “Frontier research” assesses “emerging” issues as yet unaddressed by MATES programs, highlighting areas for program development.
The webinar will conclude with examples of the program’s on-going evolution and a brief discussion of wishes for future research.
Moderator:
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Chris Trahan Cain, CIH, Executive Director, CPWR
Panelist:
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Tony LaMontagne, Professor of Work, Health & Wellbeing, Deakin University
Click here to register and submit questions in advance.
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Speaking Engagements
October 7-9, virtual – 2025 National Work Zone Management Conference
10/8, 12:30 p.m. – Safety Data Update
- Amber Trueblood, Director, Data Center, CPWR
- Marcus Brewer, Research Engineer, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
10/8, 2:00 p.m. – Worker Hazard Prevention
- Jessica Bunting, Director, Research to Practice, CPWR
- Ryan Papariello, Safety & Health Specialist, Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America
- Gavin West, Director of Safety Research, CPWR
November 2-5, Washington, D.C. – APHA Annual Meeting and Expo
11/3, 8:30 a.m. – Roundtable: Examining reported discrimination in construction
- Derek Dufoe, Research Assistant, Data Center, CPWR
- William Harris, Research Analyst, Data Center, CPWR
- Amber Trueblood, Director, Data Center, CPWR
11/3, 2:30 p.m. – Posters: Hazards Affecting Unique Worker Groups
- William Harris, Research Analyst, Data Center, CPWR
- Amber Trueblood, Director, Data Center, CPWR
- Derek Dufoe, Research Assistant, Data Center, CPWR
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CPWR Featured on ASSP Podcast
ASSP's The Case for Safety Podcast offers conversations with workplace safety experts across industries, offering guidance on how to manage risks, mitigate hazards and build a strong culture. Last month, in How You Can Make a Difference to Prevent Suicide in Construction, CPWR Executive Director Chris Trahan Cain shared why construction workers are at a higher risk of suicide and how you can help support your team's physical and mental well-being.
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