Guarding Elevated Locations Stats and Facts

FACTS

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data has revealed that falls to a lower level have been the most frequent type of fatal fall in the workplace, with a majority of those caused by falls from roofs, followed by ladders, scaffolds, non-moving vehicles, and building girders or other structural steel.

Other factors to consider include:

  1. slippery or wet surface caused by water and / or other fluids (e.g., residue left from cleaning, or body fluids)
  2. slippery surfaces caused by dry or dusty floor contamination (e.g., dust, lint or talcum powder)
  3. slippery flooring in areas prone to regular contamination (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms, main entrances, etc) where slip resistant flooring would be expected.
  4. Obstructions, both temporary and permanent (e.g., trolleys, cables, items not stored away)
  5. Trip hazards, uneven surfaces and changes of level (e.g., unmarked ramps or steps)
  6. Lack of handrails (e.g., along corridors, in stairwells or at doorways)
  7. Poor levels of lighting
  8. Poor contrast between adjacent objects, particularly between furniture and flooring (e.g., dark furniture on dark floors)
  9. Whether footwear is suitable for the type of tasks being carried out on your premises.

STATS

  • By far, the leading cause of injuries on construction sites is falling. Falling accidents cause more than 350 construction worker deaths each year.
  • Every year, OSHA cites more than 13,000 fall-related safety violations on construction sites, and those are only the violations they catch.
  • Fall protection violations are so common that failure to meet fall protection standards made up six out of the top ten OSHA standard violations for 2016, including all of the top 4.
  • With working at height comes risk, in 2017/18, 35 workers died as result of an accident caused by working at height. That’s 3 per month, which is an increase on the previous year.
  • According to the latest HSE statistics, there were also 44,000 non-fatal accidents involving falls from height across all industries. That’s 121 accidents everyday.
  • Over 60% of deaths during work at height involve falls from ladders, scaffolds, working platforms, roof edges and through fragile roofs.