fall protectionOSHA has issued a request that construction companies ensure their employees working above 6 feet have the proper equipment to protect themselves from falls on the job.

OSHA has opened investigations following four unrelated construction accidents in New Jersey. The accidents include:

-a worker who fell from a roof into an acid vat in Clifton, N.J.
-a Bayonne residential construction site, where a worker fell
-a fall during the installation of a steel frame in Madison
-a fall from an aerial lift in Secaucus

Call to action

OSHA's Robert Kulick, the regional administrator in New York said, "These incidents are tragic reminders of the dangers posed to workers when they are not adequately protected from fall hazards."

Ongoing and constant danger

Falls remain the leading causes of injuries and death in the construction industry. Approximately 30 percent of all deaths in the construction industry are the result of falls. More than 250 construction workers died in 2010, and more than 10,000 workers were injured in falls in that year.