Construction is one of the significant and essential activities required for a country to grow. In the United States, more than seven million people are employed in the construction industry despite the slowdown caused by the pandemic. And there are more than 745,000 employers in the construction industry. This translates to almost a trillion dollars worth of value generation for the country.
However, construction is manually intensive work which can often lead to accidents. It is arguably the riskiest job that one could do.
Construction falling accidents are most prevalent because they constitute almost half of the total accidents. Usually, the construction companies skimp on protective equipment and measures to increase their profitability, leading to such accidents. And commonly, these accidents happen because of improper rooftop safety railings.
To comply with OSHA, a construction site must have a railing on the edges. Many companies opt for high-quality free-standing and non-pertaining rails to protect their employees from falls and be OSHA compliant.
If you want to avoid frequent site accidents, it is best to make it mandatory for all employees to use protective gears and follow proper instructions.
Here are some common construction accidents that take place.
Machinery accidents
Construction is an intensive job, and many kinds of equipment are used in this industry. Much of this equipment is heavy-duty and requires extensive training to be operated.
These types of machinery can cause tremendous damage if operated by someone who is untrained or does not have the relevant experience. So, contractors and construction companies go to great lengths to ensure that their employees are well trained and get ample experience operating heavy machinery.
However, even with all the training and experience in the world, accidents are bound to happen. Often the machinery malfunctions and causes harm to the operator or the people around. Sometimes the machinery does not function as expected, or in worse cases, accidents happen because an inexperienced person is operating the machinery.
Fall accidents
Fall accidents account for a majority of accidents on a construction site. Usually, a construction worker falls from the scaffolding or rooftop.
In many cases, such fall accidents might prove fatal or may cause tremendous injuries to the person. So, this is why it has been mandated by OSHA to install some fall protection equipment.
Nowadays, construction firms and contractors invest in significant equipment to protect their workers and be OSHA compliant. Besides the metal rails roof protection, companies must install personal fall arrest systems that can effectively protect the workers if they fall from a height. These personal fall arrest systems are meant to catch the workers if they fall. Using a PFAS, the workers are harnessed to a rigid rail, and even if they fall, the harness will save them.
By using proper protective equipment from companies that are experienced in this domain, construction site contractors can reduce the risk of construction falling accidents.
Repetitive motion injuries
These kinds of injuries are caused to a person because of repetitive motion. For instance, if a construction worker uses heavy machinery daily, it can affect their back, knees, elbows, or shoulders.
The extent of such injuries cannot be realized quickly, but once a person has been working in the construction industry for many years, they might notice some pain in their body. This is why many contractors or construction firms provide a waist belt to their workers who have to lift heavy loads.
Electrocutions
No matter how many gloves, protective jackets, or signs you put in place, these accidents happen because of human error. Often the workers have to work near or on a power source. So, being electrocuted is the primary risk of such a job.
The best way to avoid such accidents is to impart proper training to all the construction workers and supervisors. Knowing the best practices for working on a power source will ensure such accidents do not happen.
Vehicular accidents
Construction workers have to work on various tasks, which may involve working on a road construction project. So, workers often have to patch a wrong section of the highway or a road during the day.
In such cases, workers cannot block the whole road for the project but rather only a small section of the road. And, the contractors and construction firms use all the necessary signage to alert the drivers or divert the traffic because of the reckless driving of some people.
However, if a worker is not paying attention and walks to the other lane of the road, it could cause an accident.
These are some common construction-related accidents. Among these accidents, falling construction accidents are the most prevalent and call for stricter measures and the use of high-quality railings to protect the workers. Always remember to contact a reliable source for assistance.
