As the construction community deals with the challenges of responding to COVID-19, AIHA has released new guidelines. "Focus on Construction" provides employers easily implemented plans for protecting their workers.
“This document will help construction companies identify potentially high-exposure tasks and determine appropriate and useful controls,” says Bill Geer, CIH, project team leader for the document and volunteer for AIHA’s Construction Committee. “It addresses the types of questions that COVID-19 site safety officers, competent persons, construction managers, and superintendents may need to answer every day.”
The document offers a seven-step plan for protecting workers on construction worksites using the hierarchy of controls. The plan includes a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) step to tailor precautions and controls to site-specific tasks and changing conditions.
This new AIHA publication is a companion piece to the recent 2019 publication, Focus Four for Health, which addresses common health hazards in construction.