Category: Falls
Safety for Workers in Elementary and Secondary Schools
As teachers, school administrators, students, and parents get ready to go back to school, safety should be top of mind. School safety most often emphasizes keeping students safe from violence, bullying and harassment, and the influence of substance use (NCSSLE, 2023), but it should also include the safety of those who work in schools. To Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentPrevention of Injuries and Fatalities Involving Overturn of Drill Rigs and other Specialty Equipment for Foundation Construction
Introduction Every year, drill rigs and other heavy, specialty equipment used for deep foundation construction (Figure 1) overturn potentially causing injuries and fatalities, as well as damage to the surrounding sites. There are many safety hazards associated with working around this heavy equipment, including the “Focus Four Hazards”: falls, caught-in or -between, struck-by, and electrocution. Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsNational Safety Month 2023
Each June, we celebrate National Safety Month. Safety matters every day of the year, but during June it gets the extra attention it deserves so we can all stay safe from the workplace to anyplace. As part of the celebration of safety, the National Safety Council (NSC) selects themes for each week of the month. This Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsStanding Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Overview Construction workers are at risk for injuries from many sources, but falls continue to be the leading cause of death (accounting for 37% [379 out of the 1015 fatalities] of all construction fatalities in 2021). This year marks the 10th annual National Safety Stand-Down to prevent falls in construction, an event to raise awareness Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsStaying Safe Up on the Rooftop and in Extreme Temperatures
As Santa prepares to head out for the big night, we have a few last-minute bits of advice to keep him safe in the elements and while working at heights. Fall Prevention With the amount of time Santa spends “up on the rooftop” a review of the NIOSH falls prevention materials is an essential item Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentNational Safety Month
Each June, we celebrate National Safety Month. While we all know safety is important year-round, this month we work to highlight efforts to prevent injury and death, from the workplace to anyplace. In this blog, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Safety Council (NSC) are highlighting research and prevention Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsFalls Campaign 2022: Making Research Work
Falls are the leading cause of death among construction workers. Tragically, each year roughly 300–400 construction workers fall to their deaths, most often while working at heights on roofs, ladders, and scaffolds. In 2020, out of 1,034 falls that resulted in death in the construction industry, 353 were due to falls from a height Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentStand-Down for Falls in Its 8th Year: Continuing Need to Prevent Falls in Construction in the U.S. and Internationally
The National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction was launched in 2012 through the NORA Construction Sector Council with leadership from NIOSH, OSHA, and CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training to address the high rate of both fatal and nonfatal falls in the industry. While we encourage participation in the Campaign year-round, Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentStand-Down for Falls in Its 7th Year: Fatal Falls are Falling
The National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction was launched in 2012 through the NORA Construction Sector Council with leadership from NIOSH, OSHA and CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training. Each year as part of the Campaign, safety stand-downs are held by employers across the country to focus on fall prevention. The Read More >
Posted on by 1 Comment¿Reduce el calzado antideslizante los resbalones, tropezones y caídas en entornos de servicios alimentarios?
Los resbalones, tropezones y caídas son el segundo tipo de causa más común de las lesiones mortales relacionadas con el trabajo y el tercer tipo de causa más común de las lesiones no mortales relacionadas con el trabajo en los Estados Unidos (1, 2). Aunque las caídas desde alturas tienen más probabilidades de causar la Read More >
Posted on by 5 CommentsDoes Slip-Resistant Footwear Reduce Slips, Trips, and Falls in Food Service?
Slips, trips, and falls are the second most common type of fatal work-related injuries and the third most common type of non-fatal work-related injuries in the United States (1, 2). Although falls from heights are more likely to result in a fatality, falls on the same level (which often start as a slip or trip) Read More >
Posted on by 13 CommentsConstruction Fall Fatalities Still Highest Among All Industries: What more can we do?
Falls are the leading cause of construction-worker fatalities, accounting for one-third of on-the-job deaths in the industry. In 2017, there were 366 fall fatalities out of 971 total fatalities in construction. According to the CPWR, from 2011-2015, 61% of fatal falls in construction occurred in small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Almost two-thirds of Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsLabor Day Message from NIOSH Director, John Howard, MD
More than just a “day off,” Labor Day provides us a moment to pause and reflect on the efforts and sacrifice all men and women across the nation have worked through to keep this country moving, day and night, contributing to the economic and material well-being of its inhabitants. NIOSH’s mission has been and will Read More >
Posted on by 2 Comments5th Annual National Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Falls remain the leading cause of death in construction. In 2016, there were 370 fall fatalities out of 991 total fatalities in construction. There were more fatal injuries in construction than any other industry in the United States in 2015, accounting for 20% of the nation’s 4,836 work-related deaths that year. According to the CPWR-the Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsLadder Safety in the Wholesale and Retail Trade Sector: Take the Right Steps towards Safety
In 2014, work-related falls to a lower level in the wholesale and retail trade (WRT) sector accounted for over 12,500 reported injuries. These injured employees were out of work for an average of 7 to 11 days [BLS 2015, BLS 2016]. This blog provides information about preventing ladder-related injuries in the wholesale and retail trade Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsThe National Safety Stand-Down: Why Falls Remain a Deadly Problem in the Construction Sector and What We Can Do About It
Standing on rooftops and rebar are facts of life in the construction industry, but fatal falls from these heights do not have to be. In the United States each year, 10,000 construction workers are seriously injured from falls at the worksite (1). In 2015 alone, 350 construction workers perished due to falls, accounting for nearly Read More >
Posted on by 7 CommentsFall Fatalities among Oil and Gas Extraction Workers, 2005-2014
Previous research has shown that fatality rates for oil and gas extraction workers were decreasing for all causes of death except for those associated with falls. (1) A new study from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, examined risk factors for fatal fall events in this Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsIt’s National Ladder Safety Month
March is the first-ever National Ladder Safety Month. Each year in the U.S., more than 500,000 people are treated1 and about 300 people die2 from ladder-related injuries. The estimated annual cost of ladder injuries in the U.S. is $24 billion, including work loss, medical, legal, liability, and pain and suffering expenses1. Data analysis from three Read More >
Posted on by 7 CommentsStanding–Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
We know falls in the workplace are preventable and yet falls remain the leading cause of death in construction. As part of the effort to prevent falls in construction, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), is again partnering with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and CPWR—The Center for Construction Research and Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsWorkers Memorial Day Message 2016
Each year we pause on April 28 for Workers Memorial Day to publicly remember the workers who died or suffered from exposures to hazards at work. While worker deaths in America are down, on average, even one death or one injury is still too many. To prevent injury, illness, and death in today’s workplaces, Read More >
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