| More than 7
million people work in the construction industry, representing 6%
of the labor force. Nearly 1.5 million of these workers are self-employed,
and 90% of construction firms employ fewer than 20 workers. Small
companies are not as likely as larger firms to have formal safety
programs, require strict adherence to OSHA mandates, or provide workers
with the safest equipment, such as safety harnesses, tie-offs and
lanyards. In fact, falling incidents account for roughly 25% of all
construction worker fatalities - and most of these incidents result
from the lack of, or improper use of safety equipment. Construction
site falls are second only to motor vehicles accidents as a cause
of fatalities. Each year, falls account for the greatest number of
victims in the construction industry. These types of accidents often
involve a number of variables, including unstable working surfaces,
mishandling of fall protection equipment, and human error. Studies
have shown that the use of guardrails, fall arrest systems, safety
nets, covers, and travel restriction systems can prevent many deaths
and injuries from falls.
Crane accidents result in numerous deadly injuries each year. According
to data recorded by Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), crane accidents take as many as 50 lives in the U.S. each
year. Contact between cranes and power lines is the most common
cause of fatal accidents -- roughly 40%. Contact with overhead power
lines is a major cause of fatalities in the construction industry.
As many as 100 workers are killed each year by inadvertent power
line contacts. The other major causes of crane accidents include
assembly and dismantling the crane (12%), boom buckling (8%), rigging
failure (7%) and upset and crane overturning (7%). There are approximately
125,000 cranes in operation today in the construction industry as
well as an additional 80,000-100,000 in general and maritime industries.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 79 fatal occupational
injuries were related to cranes, derricks, hoists, and hoisting
accessories in 1993. About 250,000 crane operators and a large number
of other workers and the general public are at risk of serious and
often fatal injury due to accidents involving cranes, derricks,
hoists, and hoisting accessories.
Scaffolding accidents, another leading cause of construction site
accidents and death, often result from negligent assembly and maintenance.
10,000 accidents annually are related to scaffolds. Most of the
injuries resulting from scaffold accidents are caused by either
the planking or supports failing, or by the employee slipping or
being struck by a falling object. Plank slippage is thought to be
the most common cause of serious accidents.
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