Construction Industry Safety and Health

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The Indiana Department of Labor (IDOL) has launched a statewide safety initiative aimed at reducing workplace transportation-related deaths. In 2012, three Hoosier construction workers were killed while in a work zone.

Six months after an accident that resulted in a worker being paralyzed, OSHA has concluded its investigation into the incident and issued three citations against the employer, Ryan Roofing Inc. The worker is paralyzed after falling 20 feet from the roof of a commercial building the company was replacing on Oct. 3, 2012.

At 11 a.m. EST on April 10, OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Occupational Research Agenda Construction Sector Council will co-moderate a free webinar on preventing deadly falls in construction.

OSHA says that if the construction industry focused on eliminating the top four causes of fatalities among workers, 410 worker fatalities a year could be prevented.  Out of 4,114 worker fatalities in private industry in 2011, 721 (17.5 percent) were in construction.

Stakeholders who are interested in contributing their opinions to OSHA’s Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard are invited to a meeting on April 3, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. (Two meetings already scheduled for April 2 and 3 are full.)

A call from the Moonachie, NJ Police Department last October alerted OSHA to a serious accident at a worksite – caused by a hazard that the agency has focused considerable resources on reducing.

The Steel Erectors Association of Metropolitan Philadelphia and Vicinity Inc. and the Iron Workers Local Union No. 401 have renewed an alliance with OSHA designed to to promote workplace safety and health, provide guidance and training resources, and enhance awareness of OSHA's national fall prevention campaign among steel erection workers in the greater Philadelphia area.

A New York City construction worker was rescued from an underground trench at subway construction projection early this morning, after being stuck in “muck” from the waist down for nearly four hours. The worker became trapped at 8:30 p.m. last night 75 feet below ground at the Second Avenue subway line site in Manhattan.

From the general (EHS leadership) to the specific (industry specific, that is), sessions that will be held at Safety 2013, June 24-27 in Las Vegas, represent both long-standing topics and emerging challenges.

A new NIOSH-funded study on fatalities in the construction industry suggests roofers in residential construction are among those most likely to die in falls from roofs. The study, "Fatal falls from roofs among U.S. construction workers," finds that "the odds of fatal falls from roofs were higher for roofing and residential construction than any other construction sector."