Construction Safety Week launched Monday with a renewed call for contractors to prioritize worker health, safety, and well-being, according to a news release from the event’s organizers.

The annual, weeklong safety-focused campaign partners with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and its National Safety Stand-Down initiative, aiming to tackle one of the leading causes of jobsite injuries: falls. As part of this year’s push, organizers are encouraging companies across the U.S. and Canada to pause work on Wednesday, May 7, or another convenient time during the week, to create what they hope will be the largest coordinated industry-wide safety stand-down ever.

The 2025 theme, All in Together, was chosen to emphasize collective responsibility for jobsite safety. Companies are provided with resources and content to help plan team activities, conversations, and safety demonstrations throughout the week.

“This year, our theme, All in Together, demonstrates that safety on a jobsite is more than an individual responsibility; it’s a collective effort,” said Mike Choutka, Hensel Phelps CEO and 2025 Safety Week Chair, in the release. “We encourage everyone to carry the spirit of Construction Safety Week forward by upholding the highest safety standards year-round.”

Founded in 2014 by the Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI) and the Incident & Injury Free Executive Forum, Safety Week has grown into a major industry event, bringing together 70 of the top contractors and thousands of construction workers across North America.

Participating companies can access a range of free resources on the Construction Safety Week website, including promotional materials, discussion guides, demonstration ideas, videos, and materials translated into Spanish and French to help reach diverse workforces.

Falls remain the number one cause of fatalities in construction, according to OSHA, making fall prevention a critical focus of ongoing safety efforts. The National Safety Stand-Down, which began in 2014, has become a key partner event for Construction Safety Week, allowing firms to engage workers in meaningful discussions and practical exercises aimed at saving lives.

In addition to fall prevention, Safety Week organizers are also emphasizing mental health, jobsite ergonomics, and heat stress awareness in 2025. As climate-related risks increase and worker mental health challenges continue to rise, many contractors are broadening their safety conversations to include both physical and mental well-being.

Choutka stressed that while the designated week provides a strong platform to highlight best practices, the ultimate goal is to embed those safety lessons into everyday work culture. “We want every worker to go home safe at the end of the day, every day,” he said.

Originally reported by Jennifer Goodman in Construction Dive.