The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) is supporting the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) effort for companies to halt work for at least 10 minutes on April 16. The coronavirus (COVID-19) Job Site Safety Stand Down event is designed to educate workers on what they should do to keep themselves safe from COVID-19.
“With more workers coming back to job sites, we need to make sure they have all the information they need to stay healthy and safe,” NAHB Chairman Dean Mon said in a statement endorsing the stand down. “It is critical that everyone on a construction site alter their normal behavior and strictly follow public health guidelines while at work.”
As part of the safety stand down, the NLBMDA and NAHB are asking its members to pause all work for at least 10 minutes to relay COVID-19 safety precautions, such as maintaining a distance of no less than six feet with others at all times, cleaning and sanitizing frequently used tools, equipment, and surfaces on a regular basis, and ensuring the proper sanitization of common surfaces and equipment.
According to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), hundreds of construction firms participated in a similar stand down on April 9. During the stand down, firms broke teams into small, socially distanced groups and covered three “toolbox” talks that outlined steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Additionally, the CEOs of large LBM dealers, representing more than $16 billion in building materials purchases annually, signed an open letter to the residential construction industry, encouraging pros to adhere to the NAHB's safety stand down effort. Those CEOs include James Drexinger, American Construction Source; Chad Crow, Builders FirstSource; David Flitman, BMC; Steve Swinney, Kodiak Building Partners; and L.T. Gibson, U.S. LBM. (A copy of their signed letter is below.) For tips to help keep pros safe during the coronavirus crisis, visit NAHB's site.
