On the Tools, is one of my favourite websites. It had an interesting blog a couple of weeks ago focusing on construction fatalities.
‘MIDDAY REPORTED AS THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME OF THE DAY FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS!’
The Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America released their PREVENTING FATALITIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Report earlier this year.
KEY LEARNINGS:
- The most dangerous hours on site are actually between 10 am and 3 pm
- Midday has the highest rate of fatalities
- Falls (33%) remain the leading cause of deaths in construction in the United States, followed by transportation incidents (29%).
- Small construction establishments with 1-9 employees accounted for 47% of fatalities
- 50% of workplace deaths were workers aged between 35- 54 years old i.e. not the young apprentices that everyone loves to mock.
From what I’ve seen, these stats follow the trends in NZ (only we are killing people at a much higher rate given our population size).
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT CONSTRUCTION FATALITIES?
- Train supervisors/PCBU’s do a quick site assessment before midday smoko to establish:
- Who is on site?
- Rate of work completed?
- Quality of work?
- Any new hazards/risks?
- Post Smoko ‘eyeball’ each worker to make sure they are on the tools with their brain engaged.
- If a new stage of construction is starting after midday smoko it is worth having a short toolbox/ tailgate meeting to dial everyone into the new set up.
- Get curious: After each break, complete a quick ‘Step Back 5 x 5’ and ask two questions:
- What is different?
- What could go wrong? For a quick visual reminder of what can go wrong on a construction site have a look at the ALSCO NZ Construction First Aid Guide.
All that said, I genuinely hope dealing with construction fatalities is not part of your working world and your team gets to go home, all appendages attached.
Have a safe and productive week
SB a.k.a. Safety Girl
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