The Solutions to Construction Worker Safety

Let’s face it. Construction can be a dangerous industry to work in and the statistics tell a terrifying story. But there are opportunities—opportunities to do things differently with new processes, partnerships, and technologies.

The Challenge

Earlier this year, Claris Design-Build compiled some interesting statistics that paint a picture of injury in the construction industry. Let’s consider some of these numbers.

Every year, 1 in 100 construction workers gets injured severely enough to need time off work. What’s more, construction has the second most workplace deaths, behind only truck driving. Perhaps the most frightening statistics is one in every five workers who die on the job in the United States are in the construction industry.

That is far too many lives. As Peggy Smedley always says, the objective of any business should always be to get workers home to their families every night.

Also, there is a cost that comes along with construction injuries. Each year, deaths from construction accidents in the U.S. result in costs of around $5 billion, including healthcare, lost wages, impacts on family members’ lives, and reduced productivity. The total cost of injuries at work sites surpasses $170 billion annually. And the number of claims for workers’ compensation due to non-fatal falls in construction—that is in the billions too.

What can be done? Let’s explore some of the solutions that can help make the construction industry a little bit safer for all workers.

The Solutions

Addressing safety in construction requires myriad solutions from companies, workers, and other organizations. Let’s explore just a few of them today.

Safety Programs: Safety programs have become essential in the construction industry in recent years. The right training can help reduce risks significantly. In fact, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Admin.) suggests for every dollar spent on safety programs, construction companies save about $4 to $6.

Still, there is much work to be done in this area still. Construction companies typically spend 3.6% of their budget on injury costs but only 2.6% on safety training.

Safety training should be early and ongoing. It is important to train in safety early because more than 60% of accidents in construction happen in the employee’s first year. But safety must also be ongoing because there are always new processes, technologies, and equipment for workers to learn as well.

Leverage PPE and Technology: Another big component to consider here is whether the construction team has good technology and PPE (personal protective equipment) to make the jobsite a little bit safer. In fact, sometimes PPE and technology can go hand in hand.

We recently wrote about the example of a safety helmet that has embedded technology that digitally integrates a wearer’s health data. If there is an emergency, the data is accessible via a smartphone NFC (near-field communication) chip reader viewable through an SMS text message or in an app.

Technology can help in so many ways. It can help make the workers a little bit safer at the construction jobsite, if leveraged correctly.

Consider Partnerships: There is a huge opportunity for organizations to come together to create greater safety for all. Let’s consider one recent example from earlier in August.

The ASSP (American Society of Safety Professionals) and the USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) recently signed a 10-year agreement that defines shared principles and aims to improve employee safety training, advance occupational health practices, and expand the use of safety and health management systems.

The two organizations will engage in sharing best practices, improving training and education, and supporting regulatory and legislative issues. They will also continue to collaborate on developing voluntary national consensus standards.

Of course, this is only one example. There are so many opportunities for organizations to come together to better safety in the construction industry. What is your organization doing?

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