Changes in Fall Prevention Training for Apprentice Carpenters Based on a Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dale, Ann M. ; Evanoff B ; Fuchs M ; Gaal J ; Kaskutas V ; Lipscomb H
• Description:
  Problem: Falls from heights in residential construction are common, especially among inexperienced workers. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive needs assessment to determine gaps in the school-based apprentice carpenters' fall prevention training. A team of carpenter instructors and researchers revised the fall prevention training to fill these gaps. Apprentice evaluation and feedback guided ongoing curricular improvements. Results: Most apprentice carpenters performed work tasks at heights prior to training and fall protection techniques were not commonly used at residential construction sites. Priorities of the revised school-based training included safe ladder habits, truss setting, scaffold use, guarding floor openings, and using personal fall arrest systems. New apprentices were targeted to ensure training prior to exposure at the workplace. We used adult learning principles to emphasize hands-on experiences. A framed portion of a residential construction site was fabricated to practice fall protection behaviors in a realistic setting. The revised curriculum has been delivered consistently and apprentice feedback has been very favorable. Conclusions: Integration of needs assessment results was invaluable in revising the school-based carpenters apprentice fall prevention curriculum. Working closely with the instructors to tailor learning experiences has provided preliminary positive results. Impact on Industry: The fall safety of the residential construction industry continues to lag behind commercial construction and industrial settings. The National Occupational Research Agenda includes a Strategic Goal to strengthen and extend the reach of quality training and education in the construction industry via mechanisms such as construction safety and health training needs assessments. This study demonstrates how a structured process can be used to identify and remedy gaps and improve training effectiveness. We encourage others to take steps to assess and increase the impact of training efforts directed at all residential construction professionals; including both union and non-union workers. The implications are even greater in the non-union sector where most U.S. residential work is done. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Construction Industry Education Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Apprenticeship Author Keywords: Safety And Health Construction Construction-industry Construction-workers Construction Safety Injuries Injury-prevention Injury Prevention Training Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• ISSN:
  0022-4375
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Missouri ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  221-227
• Volume:
  41
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037137
• Citation:
  J Safety Res 2010 Jun; 41(3):221-227
• Contact Point Address:
  Vicki Kaskutas, Washington University School of Medicine, Program in Occupational Therapy, Campus Box 8505, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63110
• Email:
  kaskutasv@wustl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040801
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Safety Research
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:07459940dd353c3ea084e81f2e954ed37c10018b69560db8f5ca680610c5f6a242310a8a1824487b589bc163002dc47a448ac874157a30a406f6c15c2a65484b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188286/cdc_188286_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 584.13 KB ]