What can be done to prevent fatalities in 2020-2021?
The latest figures released by the HSA show that there were 46 fatalities in the Construction industry alone in 2019. Sadly Fat/Cat's have more than doubled in the past year. Provisional data shows an 18% rise from the previous year when 39 people died.
The GAO report “notes” the lack of staffing at Federal and State OSHA is not due to budget cuts, but to agency delays in hiring in 2017. This consequence has seriously impacted more than 46 families in the construction industry and has emerged as a “Monster” skills gap in 2020.
However for those in the "Know" OSHA's enforcement activity was down 7.4 percent in the first five months of FY 2018, compared to the previous year. Instead of taking all necessary steps to reduce workplace illness, injury and death, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other critical agencies are being required to operate with fewer human resources.
Federal OSHA now has just 875 inspectors to cover over 9 million U.S. workplaces. This is the lowest number of inspectors in the 46-year history of the agency. It would take 158 years, with current resources, for OSHA to inspect all workplaces under its jurisdiction.
Dr Sharon McGuinness, Chief Executive Officer, HSA, expressed concern that construction deaths had increased from five in 2018 to 12 in 2019, with 75% of all fatal injuries taking place in the last six months. With falls from heights the leading cause of all construction worker deaths last year, she highlighted the Authority’s concern that many of the fatalities involved small companies and self-employed tradespeople.
Federal OSHA recently released a summary of all the severe injury reports it received from January 2015 through September 2016. According to this new data employers in 29 states covered by federal OSHA notified the agency of 17,533 incidents of the most severe work-related injuries in the first 21 months of the new reporting requirement.
This total includes 13,896 injuries where the worker was hospitalized, and 4,672 injuries where the worker suffered an amputation. Included in the breakdown are 1,035 cases that involved both amputations and hospitalizations.
This amounts to a staggering 27 workers a day suffering the most severe injuries on the job and that number reflects reports in over half the states. Clearly, construction workers continue to be exposed to very dangerous work conditions.
This dangerous trend shows us that without proper risk assessment and health and safety considerations, ultimately workers may pay the price with their life,” Dr McGuinness warned.
The figures show that the number of construction deaths has increased to levels not seen since they last spiked in 2015, when falls from a height were also the biggest trigger in fatal injuries.
The HSA’s provisional statistics show that the rate of construction fatalities has increased considerably in the last year from 3.5 per 100,000 people employed to approximately 8.2 per 100,000.
Construction workers engage in many activities that may expose them to hazards, such as falling from a height, unguarded machinery, or being struck by construction equipment. HSA's provisional data also shows that 940 non-fatal incidents and dangerous occurrences were reported to the HSA from the construction sector in 2019.
While the message seems to have got through to big construction firms who have improved standards around worker safety. The smaller self-employed building companies do not understand their duty and responsibility to staff, cutting corners when it comes to health and safety.
If there are any concerns or questions please feel free to drop by the comments box, we look forward to hearing your feedback.
Now over to you:
What is the Root Cause?
So What is the Solution?
Now What is the next step?
Resource:
Risk Management Advisor / Author of the Work Comp Playbook for Employers/ Administrator of the Certified Workers' Compensation Program / Producer Sales Coach /Partner at Sterling Seacrest Pritchard
4yLast year I launched a huge initiative called Safety Begins with Me. It has been an effort to get employees to take pesonal accountability. If we are waiting on the feds to fix the problem we will always be lagging behind!
Fire Prevention Engineer || Professional Fire Consultant || Fire Service Instructor
4yNice post @SteveBowers! We recently had one of our folks go to a job site to inspect a fire sprinkler system, including the hydrostatic test. After checking the system gauge (water) was over 200 psi our inspector completed the inspection and then had the installing contractor bleed down the system to verify the gauge was working. To his surprise, when the installer started bleeding the system down, it sounded like a jet engine, spitting very little water intermittently...Unfortunately, the contractor had pumped the system up with air! Everyone on this string knows how dangerous that is, but there is no mechanism to report that type of issue (near miss) to Cal/OSHA - DIR...
Director, Business Assurance (Americas) at TÜV SÜD
4yThanks Dennis, great article and good points for thought. Taking Nathan 's and Steve's comments I think that authorities could make safety training and a safety plan part of the requirements to open and operate a business for certain industrial activities, including construction. Without the owner or manager having a minimum training and without a safety plan, they should not be able to initiate operations. This would force even the small business's owners to have, at least, some awareness about safety, regulations and PPE, and to invest in a plan that will lead them to invest in appropriate safety equipment. This plan would include a general risk assessment and the proposed mitigation actions. Something similar to the environmental impact assessment required previously to the approval of any construction project. Letting the mind dream, this program could be operated by the local authorities who approve the operation of businesses, both, at the time of registering a new company and at the time of license renewal. With minimal training and good guidance, they should be able to decide if the plan presented is I compliance with the requirements. Proof of training could come from approved providers. Just a nightly crazy idea...
Founder/Director/Teacher/Author/Red Seal
4yThe solution is simple. Give OSHA the authority to put business owners/supervisors in jail if it is found that the owner/supervisor was negligent. Don't put the solution in the hands of trial lawyers. The system is broken and one-sided.
President/CEO, Global Safety Management Consultants
4yMy two cents worth: OSHA is a reactive organization beyond writing regulations, and far from the solution as they typically show up after you indirectly call them (through injuries and incidents). We have enough regulations that are already not being complied with, though I would support a minimum project safety program/criteria and 3rd party audit program. That said, until: -owners are held accountable, -builders start staffing adequately, -3rd party safety professionals are required on every project, -project management is held accountable for negligence, not just fined, -low bid versus lowest qualified bid is measured and understood by owners and builders, -trade unions start "training" people in safety and holding them accountable for compliance (some do, most don't... and unions were created over the lack of safety in the work place), -safety people quit focusing on recordable injuries and how to turn them into first aids (there's companies out there that advertise this exact thing) and start looking at prevention vs degrading severity to fit your narrative. Focus should be on leadership and culture, - the government quits hiring recent college grads (because they work cheap) instead of experienced safety professionals... NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE! (Einstein just rolled over!) Add to the mix that experience rates in construction management are at an all time low, trade experience is at an all time low, buildings are mostly being funded by capital funding LLC,s with no soul... as they want to spend no money on safety and often incentivise builders for not having injuries and incidents, OCIP/CCIP fiascos, joint ventures that don't count those projects safety issues, companies that contest every citation so they can lock them up in court for years... lots of reasons why we still kill 3-4 construction workers every day in the US. Construction safety people please explain... how have we been able to lower the construction industry's recordable injury rate to the lowest in history, and... we now have the lowest DAWC/LDC rate in history... but we just cant figure out how to prevent deaths! Something aint right... and we know it. Until we change, we cant expect the industry to change!