Key Takeaways
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Safe + Sound Week falls in the second full week of August, a natural point for a midyear check on leadership, worker participation, and hazard follow-up.
- August starts the busiest stretch of hurricane season. Coastal projects need a plan for securing cranes, scaffolds, and materials before a storm and inspecting them after.
- International Overdose Awareness Day falls on August 31. OSHA now encourages employers to keep naloxone on site and treat it like first aid kits and automated external defibrillators.
- School traffic returns in August, which changes the risk around haul routes, deliveries, and site entrances near schools and bus stops.
- About 1 in 7 commercial vehicles inspected during 2025’s Brake Safety Week was placed out of service for brake problems, a good reason to check your own trucks before the late-August inspection blitz.
Why August Safety Topics Matter in Late Summer
August tends to feel like a hinge on most projects. The schedule is deep into its busiest stretch, and the conditions around the site start to shift: storms build in the tropics, schools reopen, and the push to finish before fall picks up. It’s also a good moment to step back and look at how the safety program is holding up halfway through the year.
These August safety topics cover that midyear check, plus four hazards that tend to climb in late summer. Each section links to related talks from our toolbox talk library.
Safe + Sound Week: A Midyear Safety Check
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Safe + Sound Week takes place each year in the second full week of August. The campaign is built around three core elements of an effective safety program: management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards.
The week works well as a midyear checkpoint for contractors. If you set safety goals in January, this is a natural time to see how they’re tracking. A few questions for each element can turn the week into a working review.
Management leadership
- Are superintendents and project managers walking the site and talking about safety as part of their routine?
- When a crew raises a safety concern, how long does it take to get a decision or resources to fix it?
Worker participation
- Do crews and subs speak up during huddles, or does the foreman do all the talking?
- Are near-miss reports holding steady, climbing, or dropping off since the start of the year?
Finding and fixing hazards
- How many corrective actions are still open, and how long have they been open?
- Do the hazards showing up in Pre-Task Plans match what the safety team sees on site walks?
Share what you find with crews during the week, including what’s improved since January. Recognizing progress tends to keep people engaged through the rest of the year.
Additional Reading
Hurricane and Tropical Storm Prep for Jobsites
Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, and the most active stretch usually starts in August and runs into October. A storm can mean days of shutdown for projects along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, plus a race to secure the site and a long list of hazards waiting when crews return. Inland projects can see heavy rain, flooding, and high winds from the same systems.
A hurricane plan works best when it’s broken into stages, so the work happens in order, starting well before landfall:
At the start of the season. Assign who tracks the forecast and who makes the call to shut down. Confirm each crane’s wind limits and storm procedures with the manufacturer and the operator, and make sure subs know the plan.
When a storm is forecast. Start securing early. Lower mobile crane booms, and set tower cranes up the way the manufacturer specifies for high winds. Pull netting and tarps off scaffolds, since they catch wind like a sail. Tie down or remove loose materials, roofing, sheathing, and portable toilets, and move fuel and equipment out of flood-prone areas.
Before crews leave. Walk the site one last time, shut off and secure temporary power, and confirm every worker has left and checked in.
After the storm. Keep crews off site until a competent person has walked it. Watch for downed or damaged power lines, flooded excavations, shifted scaffolds, and debris on upper floors. Inspect cranes before they return to service.
OSHA’s hurricane preparedness resources cover the hazards of storm cleanup and recovery work in more detail.
Additional Reading
Overdose Awareness and Naloxone on the Jobsite
International Overdose Awareness Day falls on August 31, and construction has more reason than most industries to pay attention. Construction workers have some of the highest overdose death rates of any occupation, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that construction is one of three industries that account for nearly half of all overdose deaths that happen at work.
No federal rule requires naloxone on a jobsite, but OSHA has issued guidance encouraging employers to keep it on hand. Naloxone, sold under brand names like Narcan, can reverse an opioid overdose when given quickly. OSHA recommends treating overdose response kits like first aid kits and automated external defibrillators: visible, easy to reach, and known to the crew.
Signs of an opioid overdose:
- Slow, shallow, or stopped breathing
- Blue or gray lips, fingertips, or skin
- Pinpoint pupils
- Unresponsive or can’t be woken up
If you suspect an overdose:
- Call 911 right away.
- Give naloxone. It won’t harm someone who isn’t overdosing, so give it whenever an overdose is possible.
- If the person isn’t breathing, start rescue breathing or cardiopulmonary resuscitation if you’re trained.
- Stay with them. Naloxone wears off, and a second dose may be needed if they stop breathing again.
Keep naloxone in the trailer and in first aid kits, train foremen and crew leads to use it, and check expiration dates. Pair it with support: make sure crews know how to reach your Employee Assistance Program, and treat substance use as a health issue so workers feel safe asking for help.
Additional Reading
Back-to-School Traffic Around Jobsites
Schools reopen across most of the country in August, and the traffic around many jobsites changes overnight. School buses make frequent stops, kids walk and bike past work zones, and parents rush through drop-off lines during the same hours that crews arrive and deliveries roll in. A haul route that ran smoothly all summer can suddenly pass a crosswalk full of students.
A few areas worth reviewing before the first day of school:
- Haul routes: Check whether truck routes pass schools, bus stops, or crosswalks, and reroute or adjust timing where you can.
- Delivery schedules: Avoid scheduling concrete trucks and material deliveries during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup near schools.
- Site entrances: Use flaggers or spotters where trucks and equipment cross sidewalks that kids use, and keep entrances clear of parked vehicles that block sight lines.
- Fencing and security: Check that fences, gates, and covers keep curious kids out of the site after hours.
- Driver reminders: Remind every driver that the law requires them to stop for a school bus with its stop arm out, and that kids can step into the street without looking.
Share the school schedule with subs and suppliers, too, since their drivers may not know the area.
Additional Reading
Truck and Equipment Brake Checks
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance holds Brake Safety Week each year in late August, when inspectors across North America pull trucks with brake problems off the road. Inspectors checked 15,175 commercial vehicles during the 2025 campaign and placed 15.1% of them out of service for brake violations, about 1 in 7. The most common reason was having 20% or more of a vehicle’s brakes defective.
A truck pulled off the road means a missed delivery and a delayed pour for contractors running dump trucks, water trucks, lowboys, and service rigs. A brake failure on a loaded truck on a downhill haul road can be much worse. Drivers can catch most problems in a thorough pre-trip inspection:
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Air system | Leaks, a slow pressure build, or a low-air warning that doesn’t work |
| Brake adjustment | Pushrod stroke beyond the limit, the most commonly cited brake violation |
| Hoses and lines | Chafing, cracks, bulges, or damage through the outer layer |
| Drums, rotors, and linings | Cracks, heavy wear, or contamination from oil or grease |
| Anti-lock brake warning light | A light that stays on after startup |
The same habit applies off the highway. Check the brakes on loaders, skid steers, and other site equipment as part of the daily inspection, especially before work on slopes or ramps.
Additional Reading
Strengthen Your August Safety Program
A midyear review and a storm plan both depend on field data that’s current and easy to see.
Here’s what that looks like in practice, using Safety Mojo as an example:
- Running the midyear check. My Day Dashboard gives safety leaders a real-time view of open items across their projects, including corrective actions. During Safe + Sound Week, it can show which hazards are still waiting on a fix and which crews have closed theirs out.
- Documenting the post-storm walk. Conversational Forms lets a foreman or superintendent fill out inspections and observations by voice. A competent person can record what the walk turned up after a storm, from damaged scaffolds to flooded excavations, before crews return. If an injury happens during cleanup, that record can also show a competent person checked the site first.
- Answering questions on the spot. Ask Mojo is a voice-activated assistant that searches a project’s own safety documents in English or Spanish. A crew lead can check the project’s hurricane plan or find out where naloxone is kept without waiting for the next huddle.
If you’re planning your midyear safety review and want to see how this works on your projects, book a demo.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important August safety topics for construction? Key August topics for construction crews include a midyear safety program check during Safe + Sound Week, hurricane and tropical storm prep, overdose awareness and naloxone, back-to-school traffic around jobsites, and truck and equipment brake checks.
When is Safe + Sound Week? OSHA holds Safe + Sound Week each year during the second full week of August. The campaign focuses on management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards.
Should construction sites keep naloxone on hand? No federal rule requires it, but OSHA encourages employers to keep naloxone available and to treat overdose response kits like first aid kits and automated external defibrillators. Construction has some of the highest overdose death rates of any industry.
What are the signs of an opioid overdose? Common signs include slow, shallow, or stopped breathing, blue or gray lips or skin, pinpoint pupils, and being unresponsive. Call 911 and give naloxone right away if you suspect an overdose.
How should a construction site prepare for a hurricane? Assign who tracks the forecast and makes the shutdown call, follow manufacturer storm procedures for cranes, remove netting and tarps from scaffolds, secure or remove loose materials, and have a competent person inspect the site before crews return.
What is Brake Safety Week? Brake Safety Week is an annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance enforcement campaign in late August. Inspectors placed 15.1% of the commercial vehicles they checked out of service for brake violations during the 2025 campaign.
