Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley and Account Executive Casey Craig talk about how the construction industry’s death rate is not decreasing like it was expected and what might be done about it moving forward.

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Cal/OSHA’s Consultation Services: A Proactive Approach to Workplace Safety - Workshop

Director/Host: Alyssa Burley

Guest: Casey Craig

Producer/Editor: Megan Lockhart

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

transcript

[Introduction Music]

Alyssa Burley: Hi! This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa’s Media Communications and Client Services Department. Thank you for listening to today’s top Rancho Mesa news brought to you by our safety and risk management network, StudioOne™. Welcome back, everyone. My guest is Casey Craig, Account Executive with Rancho Mesa. He specializes in commercial insurance for paint, plaster and drywall contractors. Today, we’re going to talk about how the construction industry’s death rate is not decreasing like it was expected and what might be done about it. Casey, welcome to the show.
Casey Craig: Thanks for having me.

AB: So, over the last decade or so, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA has heightened safety regulations and guidelines across US workplaces in an effort to keep employees safe and prevent work-related deaths. With all this focus, you would think that we are working in a much safer environment with fewer fatalities. However, that doesn’t seem to necessarily be the case. What are we actually seeing with regards to deaths in the workplace?

CC: This has actually been pretty shocking for me. I’ve been going out and talking to some of my clients and prospects and telling them that- everything with height restrictions being a little bit more strict- when you go up 30 feet, the buildings are now wrapped (or the scaffolding is) so I thought we were in a much safer industry but it seems that we’ve had the same death rates that we had. From 2011 to 2020, the deaths per 100,000 employees has stayed exactly the same which kind of caught me off guard.

AB: Yeah, me too.

CC: Yeah. So, yeah, it seems that the falls and slips for smaller companies are kind of staying the same. And OSHA’s not able to get out to all the jobsites that they’d like to.

AB: Ok, so what might be the reason why we’re not seeing a reduction in workplace fatalities after implementing all of these safety regulations?

CC: So, over the past decade, obviously population’s grown, which makes the workforce grow as well. Unfortunately, OSHA has not grown with it. They’ve kind of kept the same workforce, or in some cases even dropped off a little bit. So, they’re not able to get out to the jobsites that they’d like to. So, they’ve turned into more of a reactive agency to some extent. Where, if some type of an injury happens and then they go out and they’re gonna’ impose fines after the case. So, not really what we’re looking for in that sense.

AB: Ok, so, what do you think OSHA is going to do about that because clearly there is still an issue?

CC: Yeah, there’s not a good answer. There’s 2 options really. Their either gonna have to double the jobsite inspections or increase the fines. And there’s a trial of that going on in New York where they’re talking about the fines being drastically higher. Like instead of being $2-$3,000, being $300,000. They’re really, yeah, so. The other part of it is, there’s no data to support doubling the inspectors that are going out is going to lead to less fatalities, or drastically less fatalities. So, either way you’re gonna be looking at heavier fines or even getting prosecuted for negligence on the claims.

AB: Wow, so, what do you think will be the result if OSHA does start issuing heavier fines? Do you think that that’s gonna make a big difference?

CC: Yeah, I think it will force people to re-vamp their safety programs. They really don’t have a choice at that point because now they have to be proactive as opposed to just- well, you get a fine you kind of bake that into the cost a little bit. So, it should help a lot of construction companies really take more notice of their safety programs.

AB: So, what do you recommend business owners do to prevent being one of those construction companies that will face heavier fines?

CC: Yeah, we actually have somebody coming up in January, I think you’re gonna talk about it. But, using OSHA as a consultant as opposed to them coming out and issuing fines. You can have them come out to your jobsites and kind of inspect and let you know what you guys could be doing better. And they’re not there to find you, their just there to kind of, give you some insight. And then, utilize your brokers, I mean, you’re at Rancho Mesa. We have a lot of sources that will help you re-vamp your safety program and kind of look at it and make sure we’re going in the right direction. Those would probably be the best 2 places to start.

AB: Absolutely, I agree with that. And yes, like you mentioned, we are hosting a workshop on Cal/OSHA’s Consultation Services: A proactive approach to workplace safety and that’s gonna be on Friday, January 13th, 2023 at the Mission Valley Library in San Diego. So, if you’re in the area, make sure that you register online at ranchomesa.com for that. And, we’ll include a link in the episode notes so everyone that’s listening can register for that if you’re gonna be in the area. So Casey, if listeners have questions about mitigating their workplace risks, what's the best way to get in touch with you?

[Outro Music]

CC: I can be reached at ccraig@ranchomesa.com or you can call me at (619) 438-6900.

AB: Casey, thanks for joining me in StudioOne™.

CC: Of course, thanks for having me.

AB: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. For more information, visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.