May is Building Safety Month Words: Karen HickeyThis month is Building Safety Month, organized by the International Code Council (ICC). Is safety the top priority at your business? Unless a rigorous safety protocol is in place, sometimes it’s easy to get too comfortable and become lax in work practices. But this is exactly when accidents, even fatalities, occur – exactly the thing we can’t afford. The theme for 2016 is “Building Codes: Driving Growth through Innovation, Resilience and Safety.” Weekly themes spotlight a specific area of building safety and fire prevention: Week One, May 2—8, Building Solutions for All Ages. Week Two, May 9—15, The Science Behind the Codes. Week Three, May 16—22, Learn From the Past, Build for Tomorrow. Week Four, May 23—29, Building Codes: A Smart Investment. During May, members of ICC, as well as construction and design professionals, will conduct school assemblies, host information booths at builder supply stores, and implement proclamation signing ceremonies to increase awareness about the importance of building and remodeling to modern codes and standards. ICC Board of Directors president Alex Olszowy III recently stated, “Building to modern codes and standards provides important safety and economic benefits to communities, their businesses, schools, churches and homes, and the people who occupy them.” What are you doing to reinforce safe work practices on a daily basis? Maybe it has been a while since you’ve examined your procedures, or perhaps you need to revisit how building codes are impacting masonry. I encourage you to visit ICC’s website, www.iccsafe.org, to find out how for 36 years, Building Safety Month has celebrated advances in constructing safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures.