From the Desk of Chris Trahan Cain, Executive Director | | | New Data Bulletin Examines Caught-In/Between Injuries | | |
Caught-in/between injuries – such as those construction workers suffer from trench collapses or being crushed by machinery or materials – became part of the Focus Four because their severity and frequency.
As part of CPWR’s ongoing monitoring of worker safety and health, our October Data Bulletin examines these injuries. It found that from 2023 to 2024, construction had the highest number and third highest rate of fatal caught-in/between injuries (n=96; 0.5 per 100,000 FTEs) of any industry. Over two-thirds of the injuries among construction workers resulted from collapse or engulfment.
CPWR supports research focused on finding ways to reduce these injuries. A recent Small Study, for example, developed a tool (available in both English and Spanish) that helps workers in the field understand how to stay safer in trenches.
CPWR both creates and shares resources to reduce caught-in/between injuries. Our webpage on trenching includes material from us, NIOSH, OSHA, and we have created a Hazard Alert Card and a Toolbox Talk on lockout/tagout to show workers how to keep equipment from energizing at the wrong time. These materials are a key part of our ongoing work to address all of the Focus Four hazards –- falls, struck-by incidents, and electrocutions, as well as caught-in/between injuries.
| | TOOLS FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH | |
New Framework for Developing an Organizational Suicide Prevention Plan
Launched last month, COMPASS (Construction Organizations Mobilizing for Peer Support and Suicide Safety) is an evidence-based, field-tested framework that offers contractors and other construction organizations a ten-step guide on how to implement and sustain a suicide prevention program. Tailored to meet the U.S. industry’s specific conditions, it is a simple, scalable, low-cost, adaptable intervention that responds to the 5,000 construction deaths from suicide each year. Learn how to use COMPASS, including by watching its creators describe its benefits in a webinar last month.
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Share Your Actions to Prevent Falls
Each spring, CPWR works with NIOSH and OSHA to organize and promote the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls –- the main event of the National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction. CPWR is conducting a survey to understand what organizations – whether they are familiar with the Falls Campaign or not –- are doing to prevent falls. The results will be used to improve future stand-downs and other outreach. Participation is completely voluntary, responses will be anonymous, and results will be analyzed and shared as group data. The survey should take 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
Apply Now for a Small Study Grant
Since 1993, our Small Study Program has provided nearly 150 research teams with up to $30,000 to initiate short-term studies that:
- Investigate potential risks from emerging hazards and industry changes.
- Explore new approaches for addressing persistent hazards.
- Create and test promising interventions to improve worker health and safety.
- Accelerate research on emerging and persistent safety and health issues.
The program is particularly interested in projects that reach high-risk small employers and develop interventions that can be immediately applied on the job. Support for the Small Studies program comes through CPWR’s cooperative agreement with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and private sector funding from the McElhattan Foundation. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Learn about the application process and past and current studies on the Small Studies main webpage.
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Tuesday, October 20 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern (1 1/2 hours)
Ask OSHA: Compliance with 29 CFR 1926.1153 – Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction
Earlier this year, CPWR held a webinar on the re-launch of our Work Safely with Silica website and exposure control planning tool (silica-safe.org). We received numerous questions related to the implementation of and compliance with OSHA’s construction silica standard during that event. To answer those questions, CPWR has partnered with OSHA for a follow-up webinar where attendees will hear directly from representatives of the Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management (DTSEM), the Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP), and the Directorate of Standards and Guidance (DSG). The panel will discuss topics such as the most common violations of the rule, medical examination requirements, and exposure control methods, based on questions from the previous webinar as well as those submitted during registration below.
Moderator: Chris Trahan Cain, CIH, Executive Director, CPWR
Panelists:
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Jennifer M. Kim, MPH, CIH, Director, Office of Health Enforcement, DEP, U.S. Dept. of Labor, OSHA
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Stephen Schayer, PhD, CIH, Director, Office of Physical Hazards, DSG, U.S. Dept. of Labor, OSHA
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Minda Nieblas, MD, MPH, Director, Office of Occupational Medicine and Nursing, DTSEM, U.S. Dept. of Labor, OSHA
Click here to register and submit questions in advance
Live Spanish interpretation will be available.
SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday, November 4 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Creating a Sphere of Safety: Preventing Struck-By Hazards from Every Direction
This webinar serves as a follow-up to the NIOSH NORA Construction Sector Council Work Group’s April 2026 webinar on the Use of Positive Protection Devices for Work Zone Safety, and will provide a comprehensive look at non-roadway struck-by hazards and practical strategies contractors can use to prevent them. Moving beyond a single hazard or direction of exposure, speakers will discuss the various risks that can come from above, around, beside, and within the worker’s immediate work area. These risks include dropped and falling objects, moving equipment and machinery, pinning and crushing hazards, unexpected movement from stored or mechanical energy, and worker-equipment interactions. Our panel of industry and safety experts will share contractor perspectives, real-world prevention programs such as STOP the DROP, approaches to spotter use and mechanical lockout/tagout, and current research, resources, equipment, and protective strategies. The moderated discussion will emphasize strategies we can use to work together to create and maintain a “sphere of safety” around workers throughout changing construction operations.
Click here to register and submit questions in advance
Live Spanish interpretation will be available.
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The Case for Safety, American Society of Safety Professionals
Putting Standards into Practice: Preventing SIFs Through Standards Implementation
Chris Trahan Cain, CPWR’s executive director, talks about recent ASSP convenings focused on preventing serious injuries and fatalities due to falls from height and lockout/tagout failures. She emphasizes the importance of upstream controls, implementing consensus safety standards and innovative technology.
Construction Connection, Construction Users Round Table
Moving Upstream: Suicide Prevention, Opioid Abuse & Mental Health in Construction
Jessica Bunting, CPWR’s Director of Research to Practice, and Natalie Schwatka, professor at The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, discuss suicide prevention, opioid use, psychological safety, and the workplace conditions that affect worker well-being.
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10/9-11, Houston -- Tradeswomen Build Nations
10/11, 10:00 a.m. -- Plenary Panel: Mental Health and Wellness Best Practices for Tradeswomen
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Moderator: Madison Hull, Deputy Chief of Staff, International Union of Painters & Allied Trades
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Panelists:
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Jayme Hobson, Vice President Safety & Shared Services, Tennessee Valley Authority
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Chris Trahan Cain, Executive Director, CPWR
10/10, 1:45 p.m. and 10/11, 10:45 a.m.
Being a Safety Leader: Turning resources into jobsite changes
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Moderator: MK Fletcher, Deputy Director, CPWR
CPWR is also exhibiting at TWBN
10/13, virtual — International Society for Fall Prevention Symposium
Fall Prevention in Construction: Data and Resources.
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Rosa Greenberg, Research Analyst, CPWR
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William Harris, Research Analyst, CPWR
11/1-4, San Antonio – American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo
11/3, 8:30 a.m. – Roundtables
11/3, 2:30 p.m. – Poster Sessions
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CPWR is currently looking for candidates for two positions:
CPWR is located in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, close to public transportation and public parking. We offer competitive salaries and an exceptional benefits package. Learn more about the positions and working at CPWR from our website.
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