Despite the common perception that the construction industry is an unsafe place to work in and that accidents are on the rise, the reality is usually the opposite. Due to improvements in workplace safety, strict enforcement of OSHA regulations and largely also due to better tools for construction safety, such as the FASCO® (a BECK brand) line of tools, it's easier than ever to avoid accidents.

Misfortunes still do happen of course. As the numbers show, about 20% of workplace deaths in the U.S. occur on construction sites, despite construction workers making up only 6% of the workforce. In part, this is due to construction being more physically demanding than the largely office-based service jobs that have come to dominate the U.S. labor force. With that said, a sloppily run construction site will always be a risk to everyone involved, but it's mostly avoidable. Here's how to achieve just that.

Historically, builders relied on solid wood for most of their builds. With advancements in technology, however, engineered lumber became a popular material for a lot of different applications—and over the past couple of decades especially, even more advancements have made it so that there is a plethora of engineered products for just about every application you can think of.

So that brings up the question: Which is best for your build? We’ll examine the answers, plus you’ll get to learn about BECK’s Jumbo SCRAIL® Fastener System, which offers extra-large fasteners designed for heavy-duty applications, including large scale engineered lumber projects.