Is renovation riskier than new construction? An observational comparison of risk factors for stepladder-related falls

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dennerlein, Jack T. ; Hoffman E ; Perry MJ ; Ronk CJ
• Description:
  Background: Stepladder-related injuries at construction sites have increased in recent years. We aimed to quantify the prevalence of stepladder-related fall hazards in general construction and to compare the risks on renovation worksites to new construction build sites. Methods: Eighteen worksites were visited, resulting in the observation of 771 stepladders. Eight of the sites were new builds and ten were renovation projects. Results: High compliance with best practices was not observed for several factors, including having hands free while climbing (46 percent) and using minimum forces (72 percent). There was a notable trend toward more hazards on renovation build projects than on new construction sites; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: There was not sufficient evidence to show that stepladder fall hazards are more prevalent on renovation projects than on new build projects. Having hands free while climbing and using minimum forces were two practices needing more widescale adoption regardless of construction job type [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Construction Industry Construction Materials Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Construction Climbing Cluster Analysis Construction Construction-equipment Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Fall-protection Hazards Injuries Injury-prevention Ladders Occupational Epidemiology Quantitative-analysis Risk-analysis Risk-factors Safety Step-ladders Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; District of Columbia ; Maryland ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  54
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20039425
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2011 Aug; 54(8):579-585
• Contact Point Address:
  Melissa J. Perry, ScD, MHS, The George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, 2100M Street, NW, Suite 203, Washington, DC 20037
• Email:
  mperry@gwu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• 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:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9ffb3584948cc7c2731004f377ab5cf699a786cb12f043fcd7d31b029d7242c9a37c50a3ab925f75bc6fe3f045a802e78ae2542e4c8de74bd89e9ae863c8b44c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192710/cdc_192710_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 100.24 KB ]