Analysis of Construction Worker Fall Accidents

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hinze J ; Huang X
• Description:
  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigates most worker-related fatalities and many accidents involving serious injuries. A research study was conducted that focused on the data OSHA accumulated on construction worker accidents involving falls. In the construction industry, falls are the most frequently occurring types of accidents resulting in fatalities. The purpose of the study was to identify the root causes of fall accidents and to identify any additional information that might be helpful in reducing the incidence of construction worker falls in the future. While data from January 1990 through October 2001 were examined, particular emphasis was placed on fall accidents that occurred in the last 5 years of this time interval, a period when more data were accumulated and coded in the OSHA investigation reports. Results show that most fall accidents take place at elevations of less than 9.15 m (30 ft), occurring primarily on new construction projects of commercial buildings and residential projects of relatively low construction cost. Furthermore, experience does not seem to diminish accident occurrence; hazards are often misjudged by workers; and various other patterns can also be observed. Most alarming, the results show that fall accidents account for a growing proportion of the total number of construction worker fatalities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Accidents, Occupational Construction Industry Mortality Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Construction Industry Construction Workers Falls Fatalities Injuries Occupational Safety And Health Administration OSHA Personal Protective Equipment PPE Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers

  More +
• ISSN:
  0733-9364
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Indiana ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  262-271
• Volume:
  129
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063183
• Citation:
  J Constr Eng Manage 2003 May/Jun; 129(3):262-271
• Contact Point Address:
  Xinyu Huang, PhD Student, M. E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction, College of Architecture, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-5701
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Performing Organization:
  Purdue Research Foundation, West Lafayette, Indiana
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• End Date:
  20030831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:512da389b608143c46b63ee9db981e6bbe62287dc9ee5a00668952a3b3936b6f718d0e3b1b60f5a7c575860ef4a67c930fc337956da3daf875f60845d8caf280
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226290/cdc_226290_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 823.09 KB ]