L.A. Metro Joins National Safety Week May 1-5

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is promoting National Safety Week May 1-5 to help raise awareness of construction safety for the thousands of workers on Metro transit project sites.

The national campaign includes more than 60 construction firms across the U.S. and Canada that have joined forces to offer education about construction safety.

“Our responsibility as an agency is to always be dedicated to on-the-job safety,” said John Fasana, Metro board chair and mayor pro tem of the city of Duarte. “This week is a chance to renew our focus and celebrate the commitment our workers have to keeping themselves and each other safe.”

Construction workers are now building the Metro Purple Line Extension, Regional Connector, Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor and the Patsaouras Plaza Busway Station Project, among others. Metro’s contractors have worked nearly seven million hours through February 2017 with an injury rate of 1.8 per 200,000 work hours. That is more than 35 percent below the industry average of 2.8 injuries per 200,000 work hours. Metro is pleased with those numbers but wants to improve them.

“Our contractors were selected, in part, because of their ability to manage an assertive safety program for their employees as well as their subcontractors,” said Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington. “They have been very successful in keeping industrial injuries well below heavy civil construction averages. National Safety Week gives us a forum for promoting construction safety to all the workers who are helping transform transportation in L.A. County.”

Safety Week is focusing on hand safety this year.  According to government and industry statistics, hand injuries represent nearly one-third of all reported workplace incidents. Approximately 75 percent of industrial injuries that cause partial disability involve the hands, and over 16 million individuals seek emergency care each year for hand injuries. 

"Making sure the hundreds of men and women building the Crenshaw/LAX Line get home safely every day is priority number one for Walsh Shea Corridor Constructors,” said Matt Walsh, co-chairman of The Walsh Group and co-chairman of Safety Week 2017. “With Metro as a committed partner, we truly are stronger and safer together."

“Skanska Traylor Shea JV for the Purple Line Phase 1 and Regional Connector Constructors JV are excited to partner with Metro during Safety Week 2017,” said Mike Aparicio, Executive Vice President of Skanska.  “Safety is the most important duty we have — both to protect our teams and the communities we serve.”

Communities surrounding construction sites are also advised to be safe. Specifically, residents and pedestrians should:

• Not trespass into construction areas and should also stay outside orange cones, construction fences and chain link fences.
• Not walk, run, ride or play in a construction area or around construction equipment, dirt piles and work areas.
• Always walk on the sidewalk or designated walkway — and watch for sidewalk closure signs.
• Remain alert to posted notices and temporary walkways and cross streets only at intersections while making eye contact with drivers and construction vehicles.