22-11-2012, 05:23 PM
Worker Safety in the Construction Industry: The Crane and Derrick Standard
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Summary
The safety of construction workers who toil in close proximity to cranes
garnered congressional attention after tower cranes were involved in multiple
fatalities at buildings under construction in 2008 (e.g., nine deaths in two incidents
in New York City). Additional crane-related fatalities occurred since the House
Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on construction worker safety in June
2008, including four employees of a Louisiana-based construction firm who died
when the contractor’s mobile crane fell at a Houston refinery.
Construction historically has been the most hazardous industry as measured by
number of fatalities. With 1,178 out of 4,956 on-the-job fatalities in the private
sector in 2007, no other industry ranks higher than construction. The majority of
construction deaths usually result from falls and transportation accidents (e.g., 38%
and 24%, respectively, in 2007), according to the classification system of the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. In contrast, most
construction fatalities involving cranes are caused by contact with objects and
equipment (e.g., struck by a falling crane). In 2007, contact with objects and
equipment accounted for 71% of crane-related deaths of workers in the construction
industry. An analysis of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s
(OSHA) files of construction fatalities involving cranes most frequently found
violations of the following federal construction safety standard: 29 CFR 1926
Subpart N — Cranes, Derricks, Hoists, Elevators and Escalators.
Fatal and Nonfatal Workplace Injuries
Construction historically has been the most hazardous industry in the United
States based on the number of fatalities, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. With 1,178 out of
4,956 deaths of private sector workers in 2007 — almost one in four on-the-job
fatalities — no other industry ranks higher than construction.1
Construction’s fatality rate of 10.3 per 100,000 persons employed in the
industry was more than twice the average for all private sector industries (4.0 per
100,000 employed persons) in 2007. The fatality rate in construction was exceeded
in only three industry groups: agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (27.3);
mining (24.8); and transportation and warehousing (15.9).
Fatalities in the Construction Industry
The safety of construction workers who toil in close proximity to cranes
garnered congressional attention after tower cranes had a role in multiple fatalities
at buildings under construction in 2008: seven deaths in March and two in May in
New York City, two deaths in Miami in March, and one death in Las Vegas in May.
In addition to Members of Congress writing to the Labor Department about these
deaths and other issues pertaining to workplace safety in construction, the House
Committee on Education and Labor conducted a hearing on OSHA enforcement of
construction safety standards. Members heard testimony about deaths of construction
workers caused by falls specifically.2 Witnesses also addressed fatalities involving
cranes and the status of OSHA’s crane and derrick standard.
Additional crane-related fatalities occurred after the Education and Labor
Committee held its hearing on June 24, 2008. Among them are four employees of
Deep South Crane and Rigging of Louisiana who died as the result of the
construction contractor’s mobile crane falling at a Houston refinery of LyondellBasell
in late July 2008.3 Reportedly, through the first seven months of 2008, at least 18
workers were killed in construction accidents in which cranes played a role.4
Causes of All Private Construction Fatalities
Four causes — falls, transportation accidents, contact with objects and
equipment, and exposure to harmful substances or environments — accounted for
94% of fatalities in the private construction industry in 2007, on the basis of the classification system of BLS’s Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).5 As
shown in Figure 1, almost two in five fatalities were the result of falls (442 of
1,178). Transportation accidents were responsible for almost one in four fatalities;
about half of these 283 deaths were due to highway accidents. Contact with objects
and equipment caused another 17% of fatalities. About half of the 206 workers
fatally injured for this reason were struck by objects and equipment (106); often, the
objects and equipment were falling (81). Exposure to harmful substances or
environments produced an additional 15% of fatalities. Contact with electric current
(e.g., overhead power lines) caused three in five of these 179 fatalities.