June is National Safety Month—but for contractors and construction pros, safety is a focus every single day of the year. After all, it’s a field filled with risks.

In 2014 (the most recent year for which data was available), 17 percent of all fatal work injuries involved contractors. Out of 4251 worker fatalities in private industry, 874—more than a fifth—were in construction. Of those 874 construction-related deaths, nearly 40 percent resulted from falls and nearly 9 percent resulted from a person being struck by an object.

To put a long story short, there are few fields in which First Aid and CPR training seems as necessary as construction. And that brings us back to National Safety Month: what a great time to offer your workers training to help them stay safe on the job!

Although paramedics speed to respond to emergency calls, it could take them more than 10 minutes to arrive on the scene. And that means that workplace First Aid and CPR training could mean the difference between life and death following a workplace accident.

Be sure your workers know

• How to recognize an emergency
• How to check an area for safety (If it’s not safe, don’t enter)
• That they should check the victim and ask for permission to provide assistance
• When it’s appropriate to call 9-1-1
• What steps to take to care for the injured person
• When the injured person should seek medical attention

It’s also a great idea to train workers about emergency call best practices. For instance, workers should be prepared to give the following information to the dispatcher when they call 9-1-1:

• The caller’s name
• The phone number the caller is using
• The location and number of victims
• The victim’s approximate age, sex, and condition (Is the person responsive? Breathing? Bleeding?)
• What happened to the victim and any special circumstances
• What is being done for the victim

First aid and CPR training give workers the skills—and confidence—they need to respond quickly and correctly to on-the-job injuries. Click here to learn more.

ContractorHelpers.com is offered by Insurance Partners, Inc., which has specialized in contractors insurance for more than 35 years. If you have questions about your contractors insurance coverage, contact us.