| The Latest in Safety from OSHA |
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| Written by A. Toni Blasi | |||||||||
| Tuesday, 20 November 2007 | |||||||||
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Page 1 of 2 Construction Business Owner, December 2007 Since the early twentieth century, the United States has had a massive building boom, both for residential homes and commercial properties. This increase in property value and material goods can be seen as beneficial to America’s overall economy and has permitted property ownership to become one of the safest and most reliable investments available. However, the benefits of this thriving building economy have also collaterally brought upon an unfortunate variable—a dramatic rise in construction injuries.According to 2006 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a strong confirmation that the construction industry remains the most hazardous work environment. For instance, work labor in construction accounted for 1,226 fatal work injuries, the most of any other industry in America (National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2006, August 2007). OSHA Inspection Policy for the Construction IndustryWhat does this mean for the construction business owner? Construction jobsites are inspected more than any other workplace. In 2006, these jobsites accounted for 59.3 percent of the total OSHA inspections conducted in the United States (Guidance to Compliance Officers for Focused Inspections in the Construction Industry, August 1994). Inspections are a typical fashion in which OSHA enforces safety regulations that should reduce the number of injuries and fatalities on jobsites. Most contractors are familiar with the stereotypical OSHA inspection scenario: The inspector comes and contractors run. In an effort to focus attention on the leading hazards that account for the most fatalities and serious injuries in the construction industry, OSHA is encouraging focused inspections on construction sites as opposed to the more time-consuming comprehensive inspections. Not only will these focused inspections minimize the amount of time that a Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO) spends inspecting non-serious hazards on a jobsite, but the policies will also place a stronger emphasis on the hazards that are creating the most risk to construction workers. Under the Focused Inspection Policy, the CSHO is instructed to determine if the jobsite qualifies for a focused inspection. They are able to proceed with a focused inspection if the following criteria are met:
Primary Hazards in Construction Identified by OSHAA focused inspection concentrates the CSHO’s attention to the four leading hazards that account for the most fatalities and serious injuries in the construction industry:
4 Leading Hazards
The four primary hazards in construction account for 90 percent of all construction fatalities. More detailed information on how to identify and correct these four hazards on your jobsite can be found, in English and Spanish, on the OSHA website at www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/index.html.  |
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