Construction Industry Safety and Health

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The risks of working at heights can be deceiving. In workplaces, no matter the height, the risks are too often discounted – until someone falls.

The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and the United Union of Roofers (UUR) are among those supporting OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction this week.

GET REAL. Start with research. If you’re not comfortable with the statistics, facts, and requirements regard falls, you’re not going to be able to deliver them in a convincing manner. If you’re not comfortable delivering the information, find somebody who is. This doesn’t have to be a one-man show.

Every day on the job a construction worker is killed by a fall and about 40 are seriously injured. You could easily be one of them. All it takes is a slip or trip and down you go.

Chinese authorities said 18 people were killed and another 18 were injured in an accident at a construction site in Dongguan city in the eastern Guandong province in April. The accident occurred after a crane fell on a shed that was sheltering the construction workers due to heavy winds, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

In 2014, 4,821 people were killed on the job, up 5 percent from the 4,585 reported in 2013 and the highest number since 2008, when 5,214 were killed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Try to start early. Designate a coordinator to organize the stand-down. If you have multiple work sites, identify the team that will lead the stand-down at each site. Think about asking your subcontractors, owner, architects, engineers, or others associated with your project to participate in the stand-down.

Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for 337 of the 874 construction fatalities recorded in 2014 (BLS preliminary data). Those deaths were preventable. Fall prevention safety standards were among the top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards, during fiscal year 2014.

As the construction industry changes and develops new safety protocols, it’s tough to keep up with what injury statistics continue to hold true. Below are 13 surprising construction injury: