Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR)

CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training serves as the National Construction Center under a NIOSH cooperative agreement. Since 1990, the CPWR and NIOSH have partnered to focus on reducing occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities and improving construction workers’ lives. Priority activities aim to:

• Prevent worker injuries and fatalities, particularly from falls and struck-by incidents.
• Prevent worker disease by reducing respiratory hazards such as the virus that causes COVID-19 and silica.
• Reduce painful injuries and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
• Increase understanding of work-related aspects of mental health issues (including opioid use disorder).

• Developed and disseminated resources on keeping workers safe from COVID-19, including new infographics, webinars and guidance on ventilation and vaccination.
• Published of a series of interactive data dashboards to inform and respond to rapid changes in the construction industry.
• Generated journal articles based on CPWR-supported research on mental health and opioid use, strengthening job hazard analyses, and new methods for monitoring construction worker exposure to reactive chemicals.
• Launched new website to help contractors assess their safety climate, select and implement appropriate tools to strengthen it, and engage in continuous improvement.
• Published Small Studies program reports on: a model for measuring and mitigating risks when using drones at construction sites; identifying and assessing MSDs when workers use concrete formwork systems; and guidance for safer human-robot interaction in construction.

• Support the expanded national infrastructure improvement initiatives with established tools, resources, and programs and develop new resources based on identified gaps.
• Publish results from and develop resources based on findings from 13 research projects.
• Report Small Studies outcomes on topics such as intelligent hearing protection, worker mental health, trench safety, and building information modeling (BIM).
• Develop a planning program to prevent struck-by incidents based on findings from a behavioral economics literature review and recent survey on contractor needs and practices.
• Expand use of existing opioid overdose prevention and mental health resources and explore mental health stressors in the construction.