Carolinas Associated General Contractors Steps Up Fight to Prevent Industry Related Injury and Death

Association takes aggressive steps to ensure training and education is available to all construction industry workers

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Carolinas Associated General Contractors

Feb 03, 2015, 06:55 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In light of recent construction tragedies announced by the North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDOL) for 2014, Carolinas Associated General Contractors (Carolinas AGC) is stepping up to add more industry specific training to protect workers. Carolinas AGC offers a comprehensive menu of education and safety courses for all industry employees.

"Labor Commissioner Berry was right when she called these deaths tragic," said Dave Simpson, Interim President and CEO of Carolinas AGC. "We are working every day to offer the training needed to avoid these tragedies and we will be ramping up efforts in light of the latest numbers." NCDOL recently released work related fatalities for 2014 that showed an increase in construction related deaths.

NCDOL states that statistics demonstrate the majority of workplace injuries occur from improper training, failure to recognize hazards, and inability to execute the proper response to remain safe around those hazards. A majority of injuries occur the first week on the job.

"Safety is the number one priority for Carolinas AGC," said vice president of professional development Bill Stricker. "Our goal is for employees to safely return home to their families at the end of each day."

Carolinas AGC is committed to removing obstacles to acquiring critical training by making training opportunities open to members and non-members for an affordable cost. In 2015, they will eliminate pricing obstacles by setting lower safety training pricing and make classes open to everyone.

"Carolinas AGC will ramp up promotional efforts for these courses to ensure employers and employees know they have these critical tools at their disposal. Our goal is to drive the number of deaths to zero," added Stricker.

Alliance agreements with the North Carolina DOL and South Carolina LLR have been formed and Carolinas AGC will focus on changing negative outcomes by changing safety behaviors at this year's safety conference. The Conference is scheduled July 30 - 31, 2015 in conjunction with the CAGC Divisions Conference and Industry Summit in Greenville, SC.

To further motivate employees to place utmost importance on proper safety, Carolinas AGC has created incentives for training and a safety culture through their annual safety awards programs and scholarship programs.

Contact Bill Stricker at 704/372-1450. Visit Carolinas AGC: www.cagc.org.

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SOURCE Carolinas Associated General Contractors