Fall Prevention Among Apprentice Carpenters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dale, Ann M. ; Evanoff B ; Fuchs M ; Gaal J ; Kaskutas V ; Lipscomb H
• Description:
  Objectives: Falls from heights are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the construction industry, especially among inexperienced workers. We surveyed apprentice carpenters to identify individual and organizational factors associated with falls from heights. Methods: We developed a 72-item survey on fall prevention with multiple domains including fall experience, fall-prevention knowledge, risk perceptions, confidence in ability to prevent falls, training experience, and perceptions of the safety climate and crew safety behaviors. We administered the questionnaire to apprentice carpenters in this cross-sectional study. Results: Of the 1025 respondents, 51% knew someone who had fallen from a height at work and 16% had personally fallen in the past year, with ladders accounting for most of the falls. Despite participation in school-based and on-the-job training, fall-prevention knowledge was poor. Ladders were perceived as low risk and ladder training was rare. Apprentices reported high levels of unsafe, fall-related behaviors on their work crews. Apprentices in residential construction were more likely to fall than those in commercial construction, as were apprentices working on crews with fewer senior carpenters to provide mentorship, and those reporting more unsafe behaviors among fellow workers. Conclusions: Despite participation in a formal apprenticeship program, many apprentices work at heights without adequate preparation and subsequently experience falls. Apprenticeship programs can improve the timing and content of fall-prevention training. This study suggests that organizational changes in building practices, mentorship, and safety practices are also necessary to decrease worker falls from heights. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Construction Industry Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Apprentice Carpenter Carpenter Case Report Construction Construction-industry Construction-workers Construction Safety Fall Fall-protection Fall Prevention Injuries Injury Injury-prevention Injury Prevention Ladder Occupational-accidents Occupational-hazards Prevention Risk-factors Safety And Health Workers

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• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• 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:
  258-265
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037624
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 2010 May; 36(3):258-265
• Contact Point Address:
  V Kaskutas, Washington University School of Medicine, Program in Occupational Therapy, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA
• 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:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d7206158bed97416a61aefd9d4b8ca4bfeee92290b658c998d56204e4834d7b03c7515c619a6d1b126995593547385a7f407dd2905515615eac87b7b91cc47aa
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188683/cdc_188683_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.68 MB ]