Construction workers build our roads, houses, and repair and maintain our nation’s physical infrastructure. This work includes many hazardous tasks and conditions. Construction workers incur the most fatal injuries of any industry in the private sector.
Out of 4,674 worker fatalities in private industry in the calendar year 2017, 971 or 20.7% 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 an object, electrocution, and caught-in/between. These “Fatal Four” were responsible for more than half (59.9%) the construction worker deaths in 2017, BLS reports. Eliminating the Fatal Four would save 582 workers’ lives in America every year.
Falls – 381 out of 971 total deaths in construction in CY 2017 (39.2%)
Struck by Object – 80 (8.2%)
Electrocutions – 71 (7.3%)
Caught-in/between* – 50 (5.1%)
(*This category includes construction workers killed when caught-in or compressed by equipment or objects, and struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material)
Top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in FY 2018
The following were the top 10 most frequently cited standards by Federal OSHA in the fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018):
Fall protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Hazard communication standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]]
Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Respiratory protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Powered industrial trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Fall Protection–Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Eye and Face Protection (29 CFR 1926.102) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]