Safety in Numbers: Texas Jobsites Stand Down in Unity

By Eileen Schwartz

Twice a year, QUOIN, the North Texas chapter of the Associated General Contractors, invites its member to participate in a Safety Stand-Down. QUION started the Stand-Down program in May 2005 in response to a high fatality rate in the Texas Construction industry. The goal was to help the workforce be responsible for individual safety.

Shortly after QUOIN began the program, the AGC Houston chapter followed suit. It holds Stand Down events every May, when contractors in other areas of the state, including those with the AGC Rio Grande Valley chapter, also participate.

With OSHA’s support, the Texas associations take the lead in asking the industry to “stand down,” shutting down all work and operations on a project, for one to 1.5 hours at the same time on the same day, usually from 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

During each stand down, emphasis is placed on a particular safety issue. “That makes it really unique,” says Raleigh Roussell.

In Houston the goal is for all general contractors to have the same safety requirements on all jobsites, says Susan Phillips, director of safety for Tellepsen Builders of Houston.

“We want workers to go from general contractor to general contractor and feel the same safety that they would at a Tellepsen job site,” Phillips says.

Tellepsen holds a stand-down at a garage project at the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

Tadd Tellepsen, a principal of the firm, says an added benefit is competition in the marketplace. “If everybody is looking at safety at the same level and putting the same amount of resources in their safety program, it creates a more level playing field in which to compete.”

During a Stand Down, materials are supplied to participants in Spanish and English and delivered to the jobsites.

After a presentation, employees are asked to return to their work sites and look for hazards.

One example involved a session on electrical safety. Workers were asked to take a checklist around the site and re-assemble with their findings. “There were 37 faulty extension cords brought back,” Roussell says.

“It makes the individual worker aware of not only their work environment, but other areas as well,” he adds.

Tellepsen invited an OSHA officer to speak at one of its jobsite Stand Downs. “It put the workers and OSHA in a better position of unity with regard to safety,” says Phillips. “They understood where he was coming from, his position, rather than being afraid when OSHA comes to the jobsite.”

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Typically, about 50 to 75 companies will shut down job sites to participate in the Dallas area, Roussell says. “To put it in terms of volume, that’s about $2 billion in construction that participate to go through the safety focusing,” Roussell says.

More than 50 companies in the Greater Houston area in May shut down nearly 130 jobsites.

Roussell says owners are beginning to recognize the value in stopping work to benefit safety education.