The welder working on a high elevation construction platform turns around and says he’s working overtime in order to take his family on a nice vacation, but adds that they’ll soon get a call informing them that he was killed in an accident.

“But hey, I’m wearing a busted harness here, and the company should check these tanks,” the welder says as his torch ignites leaking gas from tank and blasts him off the platform.

After falling to the ground, the man is run over by a construction truck.

Of course the scene was just one of the stomach-turning TV ads posted by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) last year to “shock people” into action against workplace fatalities. However, the numbers behind the graphic dramatization are all too real.

According to recent statistics from Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) Canada, one in every 50 workers was injured on the job in 2006. In the same year, more than 100 workplace fatalities were recorded by the WSIB.

Although workplace injuries have gone down by as much as 20 percent in Ontario over a four-year period, former Minister of Labour Brad Duguid says lost time injuries still cost each company an average of $98,000 in 2006.

This, he says, underscores the point that workplace accidents are not merely a worker issue but a business concern as well.

Construction falls
Construction worksites are among the most dangerous workplaces in Canada. For instance in British Columbia alone, of the 139 job-related deaths last year, 30 were construction workers killed in the workplace. Last September, the Ontario Ministry of Labour’s Safe-At-Work campaign focused on industrial workplaces that have high tendencies for fall hazards.

With 32.2 work-related injuries per 1,000 workers, the construction industry ranked number two in a list of 16 job sectors monitored by the HRSD. Manufacturing with 36.3 work-related injuries per 1,000 workers, is at the top of the list.

Falls account for a large number of construction site injuries and deaths, according to one Ontario-based safety technician.

“Falls make up for 22 to 24 percent of loss time injuries in the Ontario construction industry,” says Enzo Garritano, manager of technical services for the Construction Safety Association of Ontario (CSAO).

Of all fall accidents, Garritano says, more than 30 percent can be attributed to falls from ladders.

“All this can be easily avoided but there is lack of training and very little awareness of the hazards and regulations in the industry,” he explained.

A Canadian Occupational Safety survey in 2005 on workplace accidents echoes Garritano’s concerns.

More than 52 percent of the respondents cited fall protection as an area needing the most attention. However, the quotes provided by the respondents were more telling:

“Commercial construction poses more hazards and is watched closer than residential…”

“Residential construction – this is a rogue industry. The workers are often paid by piecework and rushing/cutting corners on safety allows them a bigger pay cheque…”

“There is a deficiency of fair requirements for safety and health protection for all contractors regardless of size.”

“Young workers are either taught directly or learn by watching the bad habits and short cuts made by the journeyman they are working with.”

Spotting fall hazards
Fall injuries and deaths can easily be avoided by vigilant identification of fall hazards and strict implementation of appropriate workplace safety measures and policies, according to industry insiders.

“Workplace safety codes and regulations need to be followed. But it also boils down to common sense,” says Tom Schoenholz, assistant training coordinator for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America – Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario.

For example, a construction foreman can designate an individual or team to inspect the worksite regularly for fall hazards, Schoenholz says. Once the danger areas are identified, a written fall protection plan can be developed and the appropriate remedial measures taken.

Safety and personal protective equipment should also be regularly checked for wear and tear and job worthiness on frequent and brief intervals, he says.

General and job specific fall prevention information and training sessions that include instructions on the proper use of safety equipment should be conducted with workers on a regular basis.

Typically, construction site fall hazards include: surfaces and floorings; hole and gap covers; roofs, ladders and stairs; scaffoldings; elevator shafts; aerial lifts; illumination and signs; footwear and safety harnesses

Most statistics show that around 60 percent of falls occur on the same level, which result in slips and trips. The remaining 40 percent are falls from a height or elevation such as roof, ladders, stairs and platforms.


(Next: Avoiding construction site falls)