Stand down for safety says NDA

The US National Demolition Association (NDA), along with the country’s Construction Industry Safety Council (CISC), is promoting a national “Covid-19 Safety Stand Down” to educate workers about the crucial role of health and safety during the pandemic.

The association represents nearly 500 demolition companies and it is asking members to stop work on job sites on Friday April 24.

“We have working diligently to provide members with job site safety information on Covid-19 (coronavirus), which includes the promotion of the Construction Industry Safety Council (CISC) Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Plan for Construction,” said the NDA.

“We encourage every member to hold a stand down to talk directly to workers about Coronavirus safe work practices and protocols on construction jobsites. We believe having a stand down is a vital opportunity to persuade industry stakeholders to alter behaviour, keep themselves safe and slow the viruses spread.

“Available resources for members to promote the stand-down include the NDA Safety App Covid-19 Safety Talk, a copy of which can be found online, and checklist (included in the CISC response plan).

“This stand down will keep workers healthy and safe and help ‘flatten the curve’ of the spread of the virus.”

With a recent NDA survey showing that more than one-third of respondents had laid off or furloughed employees, the stand downs can take place digitally or in person.

If a stand down does take place at a site, the NDA is calling on members to strictly enforce social distancing guidelines during the talk – with a minimum of 2 m (6 ft 6 in) between individuals and a maximum group size of 10 people.

Members should also continuously ensure that workers and subcontractors on site continue to follow social distancing and other Coronavirus infection prevention measures once the stand down is over.

A #COVID19SafetyStandDown hashtag has been created for social media promotion of the event, and the NDA is also asking members to e-mail their photos to [email protected]