Falls from elevation continue to be the No. 1 cause of construction fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). To help raise awareness for preventing fall hazards in construction, DPR Construction, one of the nation’s leading technical builders focused on complex and sustainable projects, today begins its participation in OSHA’s second annual National Safety Stand-Down.

“Each year in the U.S. alone, more than 200 construction workers are killed and more than 10,000 are seriously injured by falls,” said Janet Howe, safety champion for DPR in Phoenix. “Even one person is one too many. We are proud to support OSHA’s national campaign to help prevent fatal falls in construction and send people safely home to their families every day.”

At 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time across four time zones, DPR jobsites and 20 offices nationwide will join together to share a moment of reflection and openly discuss ways to prevent all falls, including the use of handrails, emergency rescue training, the right and wrong way to enter and exit heavy equipment, etc.

Last year, more than one million workers nationwide participated in the first OSHA National Safety Stand-down to prevent falls. This year, OSHA’s goal is to involve more than three million workers during its National Stand-Down from May 4-15.

DPR strives to create an Injury-Free Environment (IFE), with the goal of achieving zero incidents on every project. DPR approaches safety as a value and focuses on in-depth training that instills and encourages safe behaviors throughout the company and every project team, including owners, architects and subcontractors. In 2014, DPR’s OSHA recordable incident rate averaged 1.07, while the national average is 3.8 — making DPR one of the safest contractors in the country.

About DPR Construction

DPR Construction is a forward-thinking national general contractor and construction manager specializing in technically complex and sustainable projects for the advanced technology/mission critical, life sciences, healthcare, higher education and corporate office markets. Founded in 1990, DPR is a privately held, employee-owned company that has grown to a multi-billion-dollar organization with offices around the country, making it one of the largest general contractors in the nation and a great story of entrepreneurial success. It ranked on FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for five consecutive years. For more information, visit http://www.dpr.com.