Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for 269 of the 775 construction fatalities recorded in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Those fatalities were preventable. To help raise awareness of preventing fall hazards in construction, DPR Construction will take part in the National Safety Stand-Down by holding meetings at job sites across the country on Wed., June 4 at the same time to discuss fall hazards and fall protection. Additional safety discussions and trainings will be continued throughout the month as part of a broader company-wide effort to demonstrate the importance of safety in the workplace.

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. Over the last three years, DPR’s OSHA recordable incident rate averaged 1.02, based on more than 5 million total hours worked — making DPR one of the safest contractors in the country.

“Safety is a core part of our culture, and we think zero incidents is an achievable goal,” said Doug Woods, Co-Founder, DPR Construction. “Over the last 24 years, we’ve focused on inspiring thousands of people on jobsites across the country to believe that safety, quality and schedule are not mutually exclusive and that together we can succeed in building injury free. Participation in the National Safety Stand-Down provides another opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to a value we will always honor for our customers, employees and their loved ones.”

The purpose of the National Safety Stand-Down is to raise awareness of preventing fall hazards in construction, as fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction workers. DPR values the importance of coming together by supporting OSHA, employees and their families by taking this time to train, talk and understand the best ways to stay safe, as projects and the technologies evolve.

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 is currently ranked No. 10 on FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list and was recently identified as Largest Private Company in Silicon Valley Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal's list of the 75 largest private companies in Silicon Valley.