LAS VEGAS - October 21, 2009 - Fall-related deaths account for more than one third of all construction fatalities in Nevada over the past five years. To combat this problem, researchers from UNLV's School of Nursing and Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering Construction Management Program are teaming up to develop a fall prevention and safety training program for Southern Nevada's construction workforce.

The simulation-based program, funded through a $287,000 grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), will be open to all construction workers in Southern Nevada but will target Latino workers - a group that often receives little safety training yet suffers disproportionately from workplace injury and death.

UNLV's team of occupational health and construction management experts will design, deliver and evaluate the effectiveness of a fall prevention and safety program over a two-year period starting this fall. The team will also produce safety awareness materials in both English and Spanish that reinforce the messages delivered during the training.

"There are requirements in place for construction managers to train employees exposed to fall hazards, but the incidence of deaths and injuries from falls indicate that not enough is being done," said Nancy Menzel, project director and associate professor of nursing at UNLV. "This deficiency is especially true for immigrant construction workers, so health and safety professionals need to step in to provide the information and skills these men and women need to protect themselves from falls."

With assistance from the Laborers International Union of North America Local 872, more than 750 workers will participate in the training beginning next spring. The union currently offers general OSHA and fall prevention training, but there is an identified need for more detailed training geared toward the hazards of specific trades. Training will consist of two four-hour sessions, each held at UNLV. Topics to be covered range from assertiveness training and fall protection requirements to scaffold safety/set-up and equipment inspections.

The program will also use simulation as a training strategy for construction safety. For example, instead of only showing pictures of a fall arrest system or demonstrating proper use, trainees will practice using the system under a simulated stress environment.

"Many factors can play into the improper use of safety equipment, such as feeling pressed for time, inability to ask questions in English or damaged and ill-fitting equipment," said Pramen Shrestha, co-project director and assistant professor of construction management. "Trainees need to have confidence that, if they recognize a poor safety situation, they have the right and ability to demand safety equipment prior to proceeding."

The UNLV project is part of OSHA's Susan Harwood Training Grant program, which supports workplace safety and health programs that educate workers and employers in industries with high hazard and fatality rates, workers with limited English proficiency and small business employers.

Partnering with Menzel and Shrestha on the project are Neil Opfer, UNLV associate professor of construction management; David Shields, associate professor and director of construction management at UNLV; and Doug Twilligear, Patient Advocate for Laborers Training Trust. The training will be free and open to all construction workers in Southern Nevada.