New Toolkit Assists Employers With Opioid Crisis
Approximately 75% of employers have been directly impacted by opioid misuse, according to the National Safety Council. With this crisis looming, the council has created an Opioids at Work Employer Toolkit. The free toolkit provides sample policies, fact sheets, five-minute safety talks, reports and more so that employers can recognize the signs, support employees and facilitate a drug-free workplace.
For more information, visit safety.nsc.org/rxemployerkit.
Building Codes and Floodplain Regs Work Congruously in FEMA Guide
FEMA, in tandem with the International Code Council, has released the fifth edition of “Reducing Flood Losses Through the International Codes® Coordinating Building Codes and Floodplain Management Regulations.”
Published in October 2019, the guide details theintegration of I-Codes into floodplain management regulatory processes related to structures, buildings and other development to satisfy the requirements for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Coordinating building codes with floodplain management regulations will reduce duplication of efforts and improve the review, permitting and enforcement processes, among other benefits.
PCA Forecasts Moderate Cement, GDP Growth Through 2021
Cement consumption can expect moderate growth through 2021, says the Portland Cement Association. Its annual forecast has predicted growth at a rate of 1.7% in 2020 and 1.4% in 2021.
PCA’s analysis includes that the labor market has netted 161,000 new jobs per month since January 2019, but its expertsanticipatethat growth will weaken in subsequent years. Forecasted GDP for 2020 is at 2.1%, while 1.7% GDP is predicted for 2021. For more information, visit cement.org/economics.
Majority of Companies to Implement AI, Says Global Research Study
Six-hundred business leaders were polled by IFS, a global enterprise applications company, regarding attitudes and strategies toward artificial intelligence. In the study, “How Are Companies Planning to Adopt Artificial Intelligence and Adjust to Resulting Disruptive Change,” 90% of respondents reported at least some plans to implement AI. Of those planning to use the technology, 60.6% said they expect it to assist with worker productivity, and 47.9% said they would enhance products and services. Only 18.1% said they would use AI to actively replace existing workers.
Considering the latter result, a hefty amount of survey takers—56%—suggested educational programs to prepare workers to make direct use of the inevitable workflow changes.
U.S. House Bill Funds Training, Codes for Disaster Recovery
The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (H.R. 3702) passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 19, 2019.This bill requires that new construction and rehabilitation funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery program (CDBG-DR) adhere to the latest building codes.
CDBG-DR is the largest post-disaster recovery program not operated by FEMA; it received $35.4 billion for hurricane disaster relief. Considering that safety and resilience requirements for reconstruction investments vary across federal entities, the act establishes minimum standards for post-disaster builds and ensures universal protections for surrounding residents. Furthermore, the bill pairs the new code requirements with funding to train-up building officials, fire officials and construction industry personnel on the latest building codes.
NYC’s Injuries Decrease in 2019
Although New York City’s building industry is still in an upswing, injuries during the construction of building have declined, says Mayor Bill de Blasio. The dataset, taken from January-October 2019, decreased 26.5% when compared to the same timeframe from 2018.
This is following the September 2018 launch by the city’s Department of Buildings of a Construction Safety Compliance Unit, which conducts unannounced inspections of active jobsites. The unit has conducted 20,166 proactive inspections at 10,256 sites since its creation, generating 2,523 stop-work orders and 11,484 OATH summonses with hefty violation fines.
