4,836 workers were killed on the job in 2015 — on average, that’s more than 93 a week or more than 13 deaths every day.
Out of 4,379 worker fatalities in the private industry in 2015, 937 or 21.4% were in construction — that is, one in five worker deaths last year were in construction. The leading causes of private sector worker deaths (excluding highway collisions) in the construction industry were falls, followed by struck by object, electrocution, and caught-in/between. These “Fatal Four” were responsible for 64.2% of the construction worker deaths in 2015. Eliminating the Fatal Four would save 602 workers’ lives in America every year.
The main goal of safety and health programs is to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths, as well as the suffering and financial hardship these events can cause for workers, their families, and employers. Recommended practices use a proactive approach to managing workplace safety and health. Traditional approaches are often reactive –that is, problems are addressed only after a worker is injured or becomes sick, a new standard or regulation is published, or an outside inspection finds a problem that must be fixed. Proactive practices recognize that finding and fixing hazards before they cause injury or illness is a far more effective approach.
To build a safety and health management program, it is recommended to begin with a basic program and simple goals and grow from there. If you focus on achieving goals, monitoring performance, and evaluating outcomes, your workplace can progress along the path to higher levels of safety and health achievement.
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