By: Sally Spencer-Thomas, Psy.D.

Historically, mental health and suicide have not been considered safety priorities—until now. Here is why industry should care deeply about these issues, along with evidence-based tactics to save lives and alleviate suffering.

Safety professionals are well-versed in the “fatal four”—falls, struck by object, electrocution, and caught in between—and know that if they are able to prevent these forms of death, they will save almost 600 lives each year.1 What most safety professionals are unaware of is that suicide in construction takes many more lives. A recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)2 found that, in their sample, 20% of all men who died by suicide in the United States were in the construction/extraction industry. Read more...