A Costly Mistake: 4 Most Common Causes of Construction Site Accidents

It goes without saying that construction sites can be dangerous working environments, especially when you consider all the equipment and building materials that are on site and in use, which is why good safety procedures are needed at all times.

Here is a look at the most common causes of accidents on construction sites and some pointers on why they happen and what could or should be done to minimize the risk and prospect of someone getting injured. 

Falls

The fact that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a list of so-called “fatal four” main construction site causes of death and injury only serves to illustrate how dangerous an occupation it can be to earn a living as a construction worker.

Although there are inherent dangers in any industrial setting, construction sites are widely acknowledged as hazardous environments, especially when safety standards fall short of what is required to keep everyone safe.

Top of that list is falls, which account for almost 50% of construction accidents and deaths, according to OHSA statistics.

Falls, slips, and trips are a constant source of injuries and it is not that surprising to learn that falls to a lower level is widely reported amongst the construction accident injuries that get recorded for health and safety purposes.

It is essential that you are offered adequate fall protection when working at height and that includes the right protective gear and safety helmet, as well as the provision of harnesses as a backup when something goes wrong.

Another key safety measure is the need to keep walking areas and surfaces clear of debris and construction materials, as these could cause you to trip and fall.

Injured by an object

Almost 10% of reported accidents involve a worker being struck by an object.

Being struck by some sort of equipment or object is a major issue and a leading cause of construction accidents, with typical scenarios being when a co-worker has slipped and lost control of the equipment in their hand, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Falling objects are also a substantial threat and it is also common to hear that a worker has injured themselves with the piece of equipment they were holding in their hand, by losing control of the item.

Leaving equipment running when it is unattended or not paying attention to your surroundings before starting to use an item such as a drill or saw could easily endanger a colleague who is working in close proximity.

Good safety tips for preventing an accident like this include checking your immediate surroundings and being mindful of work that is going on directly above you and using tool lanyards to reduce the prospect of tools or materials falling when control is lost.

Loose-fitting clothing is not a good idea either, as that heightens the risk of getting tangled up in equipment that is running without adequate supervision.

The power to seriously injure or kill you

Another major source of construction site accidents is electrocution.

It is both qualified electricians and non-qualified construction workers who are equally at risk to a certain extent, with the only difference between the two categories being the type of electrocution threat they each face.

Qualified electricians are constantly exposed to “live” wires and if they fail to observe standard de-energizing or lockout procedures it significantly raises the prospect of a serious incident occurring.

Electricians suffer roughly twice as many electrocutions as their fellow construction workers who don’t have the same professional qualifications, which suggests that there is still some way to go in terms of enforcing correct safety standards in this area of work.

The major threat to construction workers with no professional electrical qualifications is a failure to avoid overhead power lines or recognize the inherent dangers because of a lack of basic electrical safety knowledge.

OSHA has guidelines in relation to the minimum required clearance distances from overhead lines and if you are working near lines that are carrying between 300-50,000 volts, for example, there has to be a minimum of ten feet clearance between the worker and the power line.

Contact with defective machinery and tools that they give you an electric shock is also a major issue, which is why regular checks of site equipment are always advisable.