ConstructConnect Blog

Are you doing everything you can to minimize your workers’ exposure to heat-related illnesses? Does your company have a heat illness prevention program in place? We’ve got you covered with these tips and guidelines for keeping your workers safe and productive during these hot summer days.

Technically, the first day of meteorological summer doesn't arrive until next Tuesday when, but parts of the country have already seen record or near-record highs this month. The folks over at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are predicting a hotter than normal summer for most parts of the country. The dog days of summer will soon be upon us and the higher temperatures bring with it the danger of suffering heat-related illnesses at the construction site. Construction workers are at high risk for heat-related illnesses due to the strenuous nature of their jobs and prolonged exposure to the heat and humidity brought on during the summer months.

OSHA, as associated with the safety and health of the employees, introduced National Emphasis Program (NEP) considering the effect of COVID-19. Since the spread of pandemics has shown some significant downtime for the construction industry like other businesses, the NEP program is likely to have some impact on the construction process.

Last week we took a look at the deadliest jobs in construction. One of the stats we discussed was the fact that about 34% of all construction worker deaths are caused by falls. What might surprise you is the fact that falls from ladders account for about 28% of those deaths.  The construction standard for ladders (1926.1053) is consistently the third most cited OSHA violation every year for the industry, just behind duty to have fall protection and general requirements for scaffolds.

Warmer weather means that roadwork season is in full effect which means more and more work zones are popping up on our interstates, highways, and streets. It’s also the time of year when more people are on the road traveling greater distances to the beach, mountains, and other vacation spots.

Construction is one of the most dangerous industries to work in which is why programs and initiatives like Construction Safety Week (May 3 - 7, 2021) are so important to raising awareness about the importance of construction safety. Of the 5,333 worker deaths in 2019, 1,061 were in construction. That means out of every five worker deaths in 2019 was in construction, a percentage that has remained fairly constant over the last several years.

Ask any construction business owner, regardless of the size of their firm, what their top priority is and we’re guessing you’ll get the same response every time: worker safety. The real question owners should constantly be asking themselves is whether or not their safety program is robust enough to meet their commitment to protecting their workers.

Construction sites house nearly 6.5 million American workers and their safety is a key concern for employers. Despite this, the fatality rate in the construction industry is the highest in the U.S. Workers at these sites constantly have to monitor the possible risks of falls, misuse of equipment, and structural failures resulting in injury or death. This makes it extremely crucial for business leaders to establish a culture that prioritizes safety at all costs. 

Most jobs are already tough enough without cuts and bruises. Add these hand injuries into the equation, and you get a whole new level of complication. Worst of all, some injuries could even keep you away from work. Nothing could help prevent these injuries better than a pair of high-quality work gloves—they reduce the risk of occupational injury by up to 70%.

The construction industry again had the highest number of fatalities of all industries in 2019 with 1,061 worker deaths. This is a 5.3% increase over the 1,008 fatal injuries in 2018. It’s the highest total since 2007 when the industry recorded 1,204 fatal work injuries. The construction industry represented 21.6% of all private industry worker deaths in 2019.