Fall prevention and safety communication training for foremen: report of a pilot project designed to improve residential construction safety

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dale, Ann M. ; Evanoff B ; Kaskutas V ; Lipscomb H
• Description:
  Problem: Falls from heights account for 64% of residential construction worker fatalities and 20% of missed work days. We hypothesized that worker safety would improve with foremen training in fall prevention and safety communication. Method: Training priorities identified through foreman and apprentice focus groups and surveys were integrated into an 8-hour training. We piloted the training with ten foremen employed by a residential builder. Carpenter trainers contrasted proper methods to protect workers from falls with methods observed at the foremen's worksites. Trainers presented methods to deliver toolbox talks and safety messages. Results from worksite observational audits (n=29) and foremen/crewmember surveys (n=97) administered before and after training were compared. Results: We found that inexperienced workers are exposed to many fall hazards that they are often not prepared to negotiate. Fall protection is used inconsistently and worksite mentorship is often inadequate. Foremen feel pressured to meet productivity demands and some are unsure of the fall protection requirements. After the training, the frequency of daily mentoring and toolbox talks increased, and these talks became more interactive and focused on hazardous daily work tasks. Foremen observed their worksites for fall hazards more often. We observed increased compliance with fall protection and decreased unsafe behaviors during worksite audits. Discussion: Designing the training to meet both foremen's and crewmembers' needs ensured the training was learner-centered and contextually-relevant. This pilot suggests that training residential foremen can increase use of fall protection, improve safety behaviors, and enhance on-the-job training and safety communication at their worksites. Impact on industry: Construction workers' training should target safety communication and mentoring skills with workers who will lead work crews. Interventions at multiple levels are necessary to increase safety compliance in residential construction and decrease falls from heights. Corrigendum. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Behavior Communications Media Construction Industry Occupational Health Safety Safety Management Small Business Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Falls Carpenter Communication-systems Construction Construction-industry Construction-workers Construction Industry Fall-protection Injuries Injury-prevention Residential Construction Safety-education Safety-programs Small-businesses Supervisory-personnel Surveillance-programs 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:
  111-118
• Volume:
  44
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042717
• Citation:
  J Safety Res 2013 Feb; 44(Special Issue):111-118
• Contact Point Address:
  Vicki Kaskutas, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid, Campus Box 8005, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
• Email:
  askutasv@wustl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Safety Research
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c6fa8d088bc675ddc2d68fc517a3a314c8b80f840cf75d7ed22307aca6e5bd93fb6c6bf4d11f10cd04720fa86e843001f2f211946ad9f3702dbc4b197f261b4e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194854/cdc_194854_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 214.47 KB ]