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Five Things You Can’t Ignore That Can Save Lives and Improve Construction Site Safety
By Andrew Mitchell, Vice President of Operations and Marketing, Safety Today
One of every five workplace fatalities is a construction worker.
This sobering statistic from OSHA reminds us that improving construction site safety is not just an OSHA mandate but also a human obligation. Safety should be inextricably woven into every company’s culture—a daily expectation. The goal is for every employee to go home safe and sound every night.
Yet according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2006, construction accounted for 1,226 fatal work injuries, the most of any industry sector. Construction has the third highest rate of death by injury: 15.2 deaths per 100,000 workers, says research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Almost any accident on a construction site can prove fatal. Rather than list the top five causes of accidents statistically, we offer five important safety tips that, if ignored, can set the stage for potential disaster.
Yet, statistics do talk:
Falls from elevations are the leading cause of occupational deaths in construction. Workers die of injuries caused by falls from ladders, scaffolds, through roof openings, or other elevations.
OSHA estimates there are approximately 350 electrical-related fatalities a year, mainly in the construction industry, which roughly equals one fatality per day.
One in four “struck by vehicle” deaths involve construction workers, more than in any other occupation. About 75 percent of “struck-by” fatalities involve heavy equipment.
The Terrible Costs of Accidents
Beyond the harsh possibility of deaths on the job, there are the “routine” accidents—by far the most common types on construction sites—that result in injuries and damage to equipment and property. More than $100 billion a year is spent in the U.S. on accidents and injuries. That figure includes costs of medical treatments, lost time, hiring replacement workers, training, lost productivity, health insurance, workers compensation, legal costs, and more. So, in many ways, making safety a priority is also a construction company’s best economic decision.
But preventing accidents and their associated high costs means understanding that accidents don’t just happen. Miscommunication, equipment breakdown, lack of safety training, overconfidence, rushing to meet a deadline, ignoring lockout/tagout procedures … there are as many reasons for accidents as there are workers on the site. To decrease the risks, you must address site safety on every job in a planned and thoughtful way.
You say you’ve heard it all before. Or have you?
Our Top Five “Can’t Ignore” Safety Tips:
1. Be up on the latest construction-related standards and legislation.
Standards, whether government-mandated or voluntary, are vital to construction site safety. Are you aware of these?
Employer-paid personal protective equipment, 11/15/07. OSHA published in the Federal Register the employer-paid personal protective equipment (PPE) final rule. Under the rule, all PPE, with a few exceptions, will be provided at no cost to the employee. OSHA anticipates that this rule will have substantial benefits, resulting in over 21,000 fewer occupational injuries per year.
ANSI Z359(.0, 1, 2, 3, 4) for fall protection, 10/15/07. Changes took effect for the first five subgroups of this 17-section standard: Definitions and Nomenclature; Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems and Components; Managed Fall Protection Programs; Safety Requirements for Positioning and Travel Restraint Systems; and Safety Requirements for Assisted-Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Sub Systems and Components.
Worker visibility provisions, 11/24/06. The Federal Highway Administration published 23 CFR Part 634, Worker Visibility, stating that all workers within the right of way of a federal-aid highway who are exposed either to traffic or construction equipment within the work area shall wear high-visibility safety apparel that meets the Performance Class 2 or 3 requirements of the American National Standard for High Visibility Apparel (ANSI/ISEA 107-2004). The measure could save taxpayers and the government approximately $280,964 per accident or fatality each year.
Arc flash standards, 2004. The updated National Fire Protection Association’s 70E-2004, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, covers the full range of electrical safety issues, from work practices to maintenance, special equipment requirements, and installation. In addition, for work performed on energized electric equipment that may expose employees to arc-flash hazards, OSHA states that employees must first render electric equipment safe by completely deenergizing it using lockout and tagging procedures. This single safe work practice significantly reduces the likelihood of arc-flash burn injury by reducing employee exposure to electrical hazards.
2. Invest in safety training.
It is almost impossible to account for all potential construction hazards, and too many workers yield to the temptation to take shortcuts to save time. Even if you’re a small company on a tight budget, think about the big picture before you decide that training is too expensive or that you have too few employees to justify it. Recognize that awareness of safety does not come naturally. Everyone must be trained to work safely.
The most effective training programs are big on motivation. If trainees are bored and restless at training sessions, they're not going to leave with the information they need to be safe on the job. In addition, train-the-trainer programs make sure that trainers know how to engage the audience for maximum impact. If you need help implementing a training program, ask a professional safety consultant for help.
3. Go the extra mile to check tools and equipment.
Construction safety includes regularly inspecting all your tools and equipment to make sure that they are in good operating order and that the correct tools and equipment are being used for the task at hand. Although this sounds like a given, equipment failure because of skipped inspection or maintenance or improper use (or non-use) causes high numbers of injuries every year.
Keeping a project under budget by skimping on equipment maintenance is not an option. And PPE compliance can be improved by investing in more comfortable options that workers want to wear. A complete safety audit by a safety professional can help identify unsafe equipment and practices and offer cost-effective tool/equipment repair or replacement programs.
4. Improve communication.
No, we don’t mean bringing Dr. Phil to the construction site. But it is a matter of understanding: not all workers speak English as a first language. Although many universal safety icons are found on construction sites, all workers must be able to understand spoken or written instructions and safety information.
According to BLS statistics, Hispanics represent 30 percent or more of U.S. construction laborers, depending on geographic area. This diversity presents challenges on a construction site, where misunderstood technical directions might cause a delay, but unheeded safety instructions in the “wrong” language might result in tragedy. Ways to close the communication gap: offer English and/or Spanish language classes or provide written materials in both languages. Ignorando el problema no hará que desaparezca. (Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.)
5. Educate to maintain an alcohol- and drug-free workplace.
Workers compromised by drug and alcohol use not only cause danger to themselves but also to their fellow workers and the public. A 1996 survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed that the construction industry has some of the highest rates of alcohol and drug abuse. Among full-time construction workers between the ages of 18 and 49, more than 12 percent reported illicit drug use during the past 30 days; almost 21 percent reported illicit drug use during the past year, and about 13 percent admitted to heavy alcohol use.
Nationwide programs to reduce drug and alcohol use among workers are part of a comprehensive effort to improve workplace safety. The Department of Labor’s Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-free Workplace educates workers and provides sources of help for those who may have problems with alcohol or other drugs. Many states have laws and regulations that affect how employers can implement drug-free workplace programs. Do your homework on these. It may save a life.
One Final Thought
Although they are important, these tips in themselves are not enough to ensure job-site safety because they are not specific to an individual site. A safety audit by a professional is site-specific and can provide a concrete action plan to overcome hazards and to reinforce the message to workers that safety comes first. A complete workplace safety audit should be your first step to help expose and remedy the actual hazards of the site before they can cause injuries to workers.
Making your construction site safer is not just altruism. It is not just following government regulations for fear of sanctions. It also makes good business sense. Along with the five tips above, an analysis by a safety professional can offer real savings, both in monetary costs and accident prevention.
Andrew Mitchell is Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Safety Today, Inc. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, USA, and Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Safety Today is one of the largest full-service safety equipment distributors in North America. They offer worker protection products (PPE) and services including safety training and consulting, safety equipment repair and calibration, customer-specific procurement solutions, onsite safety centers and supplier-managed inventory systems. Their mission is to protect workers and their workspace environment in our key markets including steel, automotive, glass, food processing, fleet, general manufacturing, service industries, and more. For more information, call (800) 837-5900 (U.S.) or (800) 263-1251 (Canada).
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