On February 18, the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) announced the introduction of a new industry consensus standard for the environment, health, and safety training of construction and demolition workers.
“Safety, Health, and Environmental Training for Construction and Demolition Operations” (American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ASSP A10.2-2025) establishes training best practices to help organizations in the United States eliminate hazards and risks that can cause illnesses, injuries, and fatalities, according to the ASSP.
“Uniform practices for training construction personnel can create much safer job sites,” Gary Gustafson, the chair of the ASSP’s A10.2 standard-setting subcommittee, said in a statement. “A key element of that training is communicating hazards and hazard controls with workers for each task.”
New hire, site safety, regulatory, pre-job, supervisor leadership, and retraining on construction and demolition sites are among the training types covered by the standard. According to the ASSP, paperwork, recordkeeping, and training assessments are also essential elements of a workplace safety and health program.
By making worker safety a key value, organizations can prevent the financial and reputational consequences associated with mishaps affecting their employees. Medical treatment, equipment maintenance, liabilities, lost productivity, environmental effects, and reputational harm to a business are some of the expenses associated with occupational diseases, injuries, and fatalities.
In the absence of federal standards, voluntary consensus standards such as the ASSPs can fill the void and offer professional advice. According to the ASSP, businesses use voluntary standards to promote sustainability, injury prevention, and improvement. Federal compliance alone, according to the group, is insufficient to protect workers because government policies are frequently outdated and sluggish to update.
“We are a leading developer of workplace consensus standards that reduce injuries, illnesses and fatalities,” ASSP President Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP, said. “Our committees provide a technical expertise that ensures our standards reflect the latest industry advancements and best safety practices.”
In the most recent fiscal year, the ASSP worked with 1,400 safety professionals from 500 businesses to develop, reaffirm, or update 15 standards, technical reports, and guidance materials. Nearly 25,000 copies of industry consensus standards were also disseminated by the Society and its partners.
After the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, which claimed the lives of 123 women and girls, some as young as 14, the ASSP was established in 1911 as the United Association of Casualty Inspectors. Before adopting its present name in 2018, the organization was dubbed the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) in 1914.
Training for workers, supervisors, and trainers is available through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) training outreach program. OSHA training is tailored to the construction, general industrial, maritime, and disaster site industries. Workers and supervisors who finish the 10-hour and 30-hour training programs receive “OSHA 10” and “OSHA 30” cards, which are issued by third-party suppliers.
Aimed at entry-level employees, the 10-hour course includes topics such as employer obligations, worker rights, how to submit a complaint, and basic awareness training on identifying, avoiding, mitigating, and preventing workplace dangers. The 30-hour course covers a wider range of issues related to workplace risks and offers more depth and variety of training than the 10-hour course, which is designed for supervisors or employees with some safety responsibilities.