Civil engineering plays an increasingly important role in the management of skyscraper construction and making buildings safer for residents and emergency staff. Workplace accidents occur across all industries, but construction jobs lead the list of most dangerous occupations. The risks vary depending upon the nature of the construction project, and major undertakings, such as raising skyscrapers pose dangers to both pedestrians on the street and workers.
According to OSHA, 31 percent of work fatalities occur in construction projects. More than 1,000 of the 5,000 on-the-job accidents each year occur on construction sites, and proper safety measures could prevent most of them. Falls account for more than 34,000 accidents in the United States, according to available data. People responsible for construction safety include general contractors, property owners, subcontractors, and equipment manufacturers.
Five Leading Causes of Accidents
Construction projects use chemicals, dangerous tools, and heavy equipment that lead to many accidents. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration requires construction firms that employ more than 20 workers to offer safety courses each year because construction jobs have high turnover rates. Leading causes of skyscraper construction injuries include the following causes of accidents to both workers and pedestrian passersby:
1. Falls
Falls cause most construction accidents, and these can happen for many reasons. Slippery surfaces, machine malfunctions, moving machine parts, failure to wear adequate safety gear, and scaffolding collapses cause many dangerous falls. Lifting mishaps result in most falls because workers fail to follow safety guidelines or use inadequate equipment. Civil engineering experts attempt to cut these accidents by implementing proper inspections and safety protocols.
2. Scaffolding Collapses
Scaffolding collapses injure workers and pedestrians. Inexperienced workers can sometimes take shortcuts when building scaffolding in response to company pressures to meet project deadlines. Unfortunately, fines for employers who violate regulations remain low, averaging only $1,600 for each incident, according to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. Scaffolding collapses occur due to shoddy materials, faulty construction methods, and poorly trained workers.
3. Shoddy Equipment
Shoddy or old equipment puts workers at risk and creates dangers to the public. Failure to maintain equipment properly or provide the right kind of training to run it could result in construction-company liability for additional damages in lawsuits. Power equipment often causes electrical shocks that can kill or cause falls or machine injuries. Faulty equipment could lead to excavation injuries, transportation accidents, or collapses of safety features such as guardrails, barriers, and other equipment.
4. Inadequate Training
Despite OSHA regulations requiring safety training, many companies cut corners by skipping on this essential safety protocol. Contractors sometimes seek to save money by cutting costs on labor and materials, and this combination of cuts can prove deadly. Implementing adequate safety and training measures could prevent most construction accidents. For example, some scaffolding workers receive very little training, in spite of OSHA requirements, and scaffolding collapses cause many construction accidents.
5. Worker Diseases
Chronic diseases occur among construction workers with strong astonishing regularity, and these diseases include asbestosis, asbestos lung cancer, silicosis, and mesothelioma. Fine crystalline particles of rock from drilling operations become airborne and scar the lungs, leading to silicosis. Exposure to asbestos could lead to respiratory problems, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. These diseases could take decades for symptoms to show, and construction workers could have worked on many projects, making it difficult to pinpoint where they contracted their diseases. Mesothelioma describes a type of cancer that almost always leads to death within five years. Other toxic chemicals could cause a number of diseases.
Serious injuries often occur when working on construction projects, and many of these catastrophic accidents end workers' careers, reducing injured workers to light or moderate duties. Work-related diseases could prove fatal, and many of these take years before symptoms surface. Effective civil engineering helps lower the number of construction injuries and makes the injuries less severe by following recommended safety protocols.
Author Bio
Steven Reed is a writer that focuses on producing content in the field of civil engineering. This article explained the importance of safety during construction projects and encourages further study in this area as in a Masters in Engineering Management.
According to OSHA, 31 percent of work fatalities occur in construction projects. More than 1,000 of the 5,000 on-the-job accidents each year occur on construction sites, and proper safety measures could prevent most of them. Falls account for more than 34,000 accidents in the United States, according to available data. People responsible for construction safety include general contractors, property owners, subcontractors, and equipment manufacturers.
Five Leading Causes of Accidents
Construction projects use chemicals, dangerous tools, and heavy equipment that lead to many accidents. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration requires construction firms that employ more than 20 workers to offer safety courses each year because construction jobs have high turnover rates. Leading causes of skyscraper construction injuries include the following causes of accidents to both workers and pedestrian passersby:
1. Falls
Falls cause most construction accidents, and these can happen for many reasons. Slippery surfaces, machine malfunctions, moving machine parts, failure to wear adequate safety gear, and scaffolding collapses cause many dangerous falls. Lifting mishaps result in most falls because workers fail to follow safety guidelines or use inadequate equipment. Civil engineering experts attempt to cut these accidents by implementing proper inspections and safety protocols.
2. Scaffolding Collapses
Scaffolding collapses injure workers and pedestrians. Inexperienced workers can sometimes take shortcuts when building scaffolding in response to company pressures to meet project deadlines. Unfortunately, fines for employers who violate regulations remain low, averaging only $1,600 for each incident, according to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. Scaffolding collapses occur due to shoddy materials, faulty construction methods, and poorly trained workers.
3. Shoddy Equipment
Shoddy or old equipment puts workers at risk and creates dangers to the public. Failure to maintain equipment properly or provide the right kind of training to run it could result in construction-company liability for additional damages in lawsuits. Power equipment often causes electrical shocks that can kill or cause falls or machine injuries. Faulty equipment could lead to excavation injuries, transportation accidents, or collapses of safety features such as guardrails, barriers, and other equipment.
4. Inadequate Training
Despite OSHA regulations requiring safety training, many companies cut corners by skipping on this essential safety protocol. Contractors sometimes seek to save money by cutting costs on labor and materials, and this combination of cuts can prove deadly. Implementing adequate safety and training measures could prevent most construction accidents. For example, some scaffolding workers receive very little training, in spite of OSHA requirements, and scaffolding collapses cause many construction accidents.
5. Worker Diseases
Chronic diseases occur among construction workers with strong astonishing regularity, and these diseases include asbestosis, asbestos lung cancer, silicosis, and mesothelioma. Fine crystalline particles of rock from drilling operations become airborne and scar the lungs, leading to silicosis. Exposure to asbestos could lead to respiratory problems, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. These diseases could take decades for symptoms to show, and construction workers could have worked on many projects, making it difficult to pinpoint where they contracted their diseases. Mesothelioma describes a type of cancer that almost always leads to death within five years. Other toxic chemicals could cause a number of diseases.
Serious injuries often occur when working on construction projects, and many of these catastrophic accidents end workers' careers, reducing injured workers to light or moderate duties. Work-related diseases could prove fatal, and many of these take years before symptoms surface. Effective civil engineering helps lower the number of construction injuries and makes the injuries less severe by following recommended safety protocols.
Author Bio
Steven Reed is a writer that focuses on producing content in the field of civil engineering. This article explained the importance of safety during construction projects and encourages further study in this area as in a Masters in Engineering Management.
The occupational hazards in such industrial professions are not unheard off. But the abidance of the regulated norms can readily avoid them. Thus, the workers working at such heights should be properly trained and the usage of safety equipment should be made mandatory.
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