Too many construction workers are dying on the job
That was Charles Jeffress's message at the 10th Annual Construction Safety Conference held last month in Chicago. "The construction industry has made real progress when it comes to overall injury and illness rates. (Rates) have declined by nearly 30 percent since 1993," said Jeffress. "That's good news... Now I'd like to see us make a real dent in the fatality rates. The news on fatalities has not been good. In fact, it's terrible."
More construction workers die on the job than workers in any other field, reported Jeffress. Only six percent of Americans work in construction, but nearly 20 percent of American workers who lost their lives in the workplace last year died on construction sites.