Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) often called drones are increasingly used for military, recreational, public, and commercial purposes. UAVs have the potential to prevent injury and death in the construction industry where nearly 1,000 workers died in 2015. Advancements in UAV technology could help reduce construction-related injury and death from falls, toxic chemical exposures, electrical hazards, or traumatic injury from vehicle and equipment collisions.
Six construction workers were injured last week – four seriously – at a Brooklyn, New York worksite. According to news sources, the injuries occurred when a two-story brick building that was under construction collapsed after a load of cinder blocks was placed on its roof.
Assess-
Look carefully at plant operations. Inspect all work areas, access routes, and equipment for hazards to eyes. Study eye accident and injury reports. Identify operations and areas the present eye hazards.
Test-
Uncorrected vision problems can cause accidents. Provide vision testing during routine employee physical exams.
Eye injuries in the workplace are very common. More than 2,000 people injure their eyes at work each day. About 1 in 10 injuries require one or more missed workdays to recover from. Of the total amount of work-related injuries, 10-20 percent will cause temporary or permanent vision loss.
Experts believe that the right eye protection could have lessened the severity or even prevented 90% of eye injuries in accidents.
Start planning now. The 2018 National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls will be held May 7-11.
The Safety Stand-Down is a voluntary event for employers to talk directly to employees about safety. Employers are encouraged to take a break during the event and focus on fall hazards and and fall prevention.
The poultry industry and Republican lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to make a change that could have profound implications for both worker safety and food safety.
Seven workers were injured last night – five of them critically -- when an oil rig exploded on Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. News sources say the Coast Guard is searching for one person who is still missing. All of the workers suffered blast-type injuries and burns.
Great DART has helped earn a North Carolina company a Gold Safety Award from its state’s Department of Labor (NCDOL). GreenWood, Inc., an integrated operations, maintenance and construction solutions provider, received the honor for one of its operations in Durham, North Carolina. DART stands for: “days away from work, restricted activity or job transfer.”
Some robots may do the majority of back-breaking work for construction workers that repeat the same routine for hours.
The Hadrian X is a bricklaying robot courtesy Australia's Fastbrick Robotics, which uses its 30-metre metal arm to lay bricks at a rate of 1,000 bricks per hour, compared to a human worker's average of 1,000 a day.
