Safety Week

Safety Week Logo 2019

National Construction Safety Week is September 14-18, 2020.

For more information on national activities, please visit ConstructionSafetyWeek.com for a variety of resources, including:

Planning resources
Daily topics, videos & toolbox talks
At-home family activities
Spanish-translated materials
Submit your own success stories
Social media toolkit and promotional materials & graphics

Safety Week 2020 Kickoff Presentation, presented by Acme Construction Supply

This year, our annual kickoff event took place virtually, featuring speaker Steven Eberlein of Ethos Preparedness. Steven is a foremost expert on Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake preparedness.

View the full SafeBuild Alliance Safety Week Kickoff presentation below.
Originally presented on September 11, 2020.

How can I get prepared?

Steven has provided a number of excellent resources to help you be prepared when disaster strikes.

Get shake ready	+ Run an earthquake drill. This is the audio that I personally mixed for our earthquake drill. It’s all yours. Use it at home, use it in your office.
	+ Secure you water heater – Save your drinking water and prevent gas fire
	+ Use earthquake straps for tall furniture – Start with the bedrooms.
Get your supplies	+ Build a kit for your home, car and office. This is the container I use for my home kit.
	+ Stockpile shelf-stable foods. Mountain House 14-Day Food Supply (1 person). Gluten-free, vegan options at Nutristore
	+ Build an emergency water supply – at least 14-gallons of water per person in your home.
	+ This is the emergency water container I use in my home. Blue plastic = emergency water grade. Change your water out every year.
	+ Build emergency toilets – because you still have to go, and you need to do it safely
Get planning	+ Tsunami Evacuation Route Planning – 1) Enter the address where you’re staying, 2) determine the location of the nearest evacuation site, 3) plot your walking path on Google Maps, 4) drive that route one time upon arrival to create a memory.
	+ Create a family reunification plan. Remember that you want to choose three places to meet. Plan A) home or near home. Plan B) a park or other clear area near your home C) another park or public area in an adjacent neighborhood.
	+ If you’re ready to involve your neighbors, use the Map Your Neighborhood resource to pool your intelligence, skills and resources
	+ Apartment and Condo preparedness – It’s from BC, Canada, but they’re preparing for this earthquake, too!
	+ Have a medical preparedness conversation with your doctor
Get trained	+ Basic First Aid Training – When citizens are first responders, citizens need to know what to do
Get trained	+ Wilderness First Aid Training – A higher level of first aid for the most difficult times and scenarios + Learn to operate a HAM Radio so that you can help the county communicate after a major event.
Get involved	+ Join your local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) in Beaverton, Hillsboro or Tigard. In Portland, these are known as Join your local NET (Neighborhood Emergency Team).

Disaster Kits

Are you or your company interested in disaster preparedness kits? There are a variety of great resources, including local company and SafeBuild Safety Week Sponsor, Cascadia Quake Kits.

Addtionally, Ethos has work and home preparedness kits through Redfora.

More About Steven Eberlein

Our keynote speaker for 2020 is Steven Eberlein, a TEDx speaker and foremost expert on the Cascadia Subduction Zone and earthquake preparedness. Steve works to put theory into practice and create an enduring culture of earthquake preparedness in the companies and communities of the western US and Canada.

Through this presentation, Steve connects the dots between organizational safety and disaster preparedness. By the end, you will have a better understanding of the steps to take to prepare your workplaces and your homes for a major disaster.

View an overview of Steve's presentation below.