CONSTRUCTION STRUCK-BY DEATHS UP 34 % SINCE 2010
by Kerry Clines, Equipment World
Struck-by hazards are one of the Focus Four hazards identified by the U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration( OSHA) as a leading cause of injuries in construction, according to the Quarterly Data Report from CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training. The other hazards are falls, caughtin-between injuries, and electrocution. Between 2010 and 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, the number of deaths resulting from workers being struck by an object, piece of equipment, or vehicle increased 34 percent to 162. Of these fatalities, 114 were caused by passenger vehicles, primarily those passing near and through highway work zones. Trucks struck and killed 114 workers in the same time frame, followed by multi-purpose highway vehicles at 85 deaths, and construction, logging, and mining machinery at 52 deaths. From 2011 to 2015, 804 construction workers died from struck-by injuries, more than any other major industry. Of these, 52 percent were struck by an object or equipment, and the rest were struck by a vehicle. Fifty-one percent of fatalities involving being struck by an object or equipment were caused by falling objects or equipment, and 96 percent of non-fatal struck-by injuries were from being struck by an object or equipment.
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SEPTEMBER 2017 • DITCHMEN 11