Construction Industry Safety and Health

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Florida’s construction cranes weathered Hurricane Irma better than expected, although three massive cranes did collapse in the southern part of the state after being battered by 120 mph winds and heavy rain. There were no injuries reported from the crane incidents.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing grants, OSHA is suspending enforcement activity and federal contractor requirements are being waived, all in an effort to assist with and expedite post-Harvey recovery efforts.

In an increasingly familiar scenario, OSHA is considering pushing a regulatory compliance date forward into the future in order to “address stakeholder concerns.”

Construction activity in the southern United States is booming. In Texas and Tennessee alone, construction now generates more dollars annually than it did before the Great Recession. In Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, construction spending is rapidly approaching pre-recession levels.

OSHA has again cited a North Florida roofing contractor for failing to protect its workers from the risks of dangerous falls and other hazards at two St. Augustine work sites.

Nail guns are used every day on many construction jobs. They boost productivity but also cause tens of thousands of serious injuries each year. Nail gun injuries are common - one study found that 2 out of 5 residential carpenter apprentices experienced a nail gun injury over a four-year period.

Ten years ago the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) launched the concept of Prevention through Design (PtD), which champions preventing and controlling occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by “designing out” or minimizing hazards and risks.

The most common accidents reported from construction sites, named the “Fatal Four” by OSHA, were responsible for 64.2 percent of construction worker deaths in 2015: falls, struck by an object (“injuries produced by forcible contact or impact between the injured person and an object or piece of equipment”), electrocution, and caught-in or –between hazards (can-ins, pulled into machinery, crushed by two pieces of machinery, etc.).

An electrical worker died June 28 after falling 75 feet at the new Little Caesars Arena construction site in Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press. Detroit Deputy Fire Commission Dave Forell said the man was in cardiac arrest when emergency crews arrived. The 46-year-old victim was found in the bleacher section.

Skanska’s Construction Work Plan tool (CWP) is a Windows-based excel spreadsheet that enables efficient, effective, and consistent planning for construction work activities. The tool has been used by thousands of Skanska team members all over the country. The CWP marries safety planning with lean methodologies.