Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry.
Weather events can impact fall protection systems and personal fall arrest systems, jeopardizing life safety across the construction industry and built environment. However, with actionable intelligence from decision support solutions, project teams can now improve situational awareness and make better-informed decisions about weather events, safety impacts, and probable outcomes — managing and mitigating risks to life safety.
Low temperature, dew, frost and fog events can lead to slippery surfaces.
During the winter season, low temperature events can impact the work site both during the scheduled work shift and overnight for the next work day. Further, dew, frost and fog can lead to slippery working and walking surfaces on roofs, roof surfaces, scaffolds, and scaffold components, for example. Accordingly, proper fall protection and careful movement over areas impacted by low temperature, dew, frost and fog events are critical for life safety.
Falls from roofs account for 34% of fall deaths.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, www.osha.gov) publishes guidance document OSHA 3755-05 2015 – Protecting Roofing Workers. OSHA confirms that “Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, accounting for over 3,500 fatalities between 2003 and 2013. Falls from roofs accounted for nearly 1,200, or 34%, of the fall deaths during that period.”
Workers at height are at risk of serious injury, illness and death as a result of weather events.
OSHA highlights how workers at height, such as roofers, encounter many health and safety hazards on sites and facilities across the construction industry and built environment. Further, workers at height are at risk of serious injury, illness and death, unless the hazards, such as slippery working and walking surfaces as a result of weather events, are controlled by the employer. Control starts with first identifying hazards and second addressing risks.
More in the next blog series about managing weather risk and protecting workers at height…
(Image Source: OSHA 3755-05 2015 – Protecting Roofing Workers)
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