National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Falls don’t care if you’re hanging duct, setting RTUs, working off a ladder, or up on a roof making connections, it can happen to any of us.
Falls remain the leading cause of death in construction, accounting for about one-third of all fatalities. Every year, thousands of workers are seriously injured, and on average, one worker a day loses their life from a fall to a lower level. Many of these incidents come from places we work every day, including ladders, scaffolds, rooftops, structural steel, and unprotected edges or openings.
Stand-Down Week: May 4–8, 2026
The National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction takes place May 4–8, 2026, and SMOHIT is proud to serve as a Premier Partner with CPWR (The Center for Construction Research and Training).
As a Premier Partner, SMOHIT is sharing resources, promoting fall prevention awareness, and supporting education across the industry. This partnership reflects a commitment to ensuring workers have access to practical tools, training, and information that help prevent falls and save lives.
A Stand-Down is a dedicated time to pause work and focus on fall prevention. It is an opportunity for all persons on the jobsite to come together and reinforce the importance of working safely at heights — whether that’s on a rooftop, a lift, a ladder, or even just a few feet off the ground.
Creating a Stand-Down Event
This includes checking fall protection systems, inspecting ladders for stability and proper setup, and reviewing all equipment used for climbing, working at heights, or protecting against falls to ensure it is in safe working condition.
Using available resources from the Falls Campaign can help guide these conversations. Materials such as toolbox talks, training videos, written plans, and multilingual handouts are available to support these efforts and provide consistent messaging across jobsites. Reviewing examples of past stand-downs, including public service announcements and shared success stories, can also help shape effective and engaging activities.