elcosh

An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry 2002

| |
Construction Industry Research and Policy Center
PDF

Summary Statement

Descriptions of the 719 fatal events inspected by OSHA resulting from accidents which occurred in construction during calendar year 2002.
Feb 2004

This report covers only a portion of the deaths in the construction industry in 2002. This report is based upon OSHA-inspected fatal events in construction during calendar 2002. The data analyzed were provided by Dr. Joseph Dubois, Director, Office of Statistics, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. William R. Schriver, Ph.D., and Thomas E. Cressler II, M.S., Resource, conducted the study and prepared this report; they alone are responsible for all interpretations, conclusions and any errors found in the report.

Prepared for:

Office of Statistics
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
U. S. Department of Labor

Prepared by:

Construction Industry Research and Policy Center
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

February 2004

This report is based upon OSHA-inspected fatal events in construction during calendar 2002. The data analyzed were provided by Dr. Joseph Dubois, Director, Office of Statistics, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. William R. Schriver, Ph.D., Director and Thomas E. Cressler II, M.S., Senior Associate Administrator, conducted the study and prepared this report; they alone are responsible for all interpretations, conclusions and any errors found in the report.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Data
Analysis

List of Tables in Text

Table I. Construction Fatality Event Causes, 2002
Table II. A Comparison of Ranks of Causes of Fatal Events in 1991 – 2001 with 2002

Appendices

Appendix A:

Definitions of Fatality Causes

Appendix B:

Figure B1. Comparison of Construction Fatality Causes (Pooled Years 1995-2001 with 2002)
Figure B2. Frequency of Causes of Construction Fatality Events (2002)
Figure B3. Frequency of Causes of Construction Fatality Events (1995–2001)
Figure B4. Comparison of Construction Fatality Causes - Combined Categories (Pooled Years 1995-2001 with 2002)

Appendix C: Table C1. Construction Fatal Events by End-Use Type, 2002

Table C2. Construction Fatal Events by Type of Project, 2002
Table C3. Construction Fatal Events by Four-Digit SIC, 2002
Table C4. Construction Fatal Events by Project Value, 2002
Table C5. Construction Fatal Events by Construction Operation, 2002


I. Introduction

This paper reports on the causes of fatal events in the construction industry which occurred in calendar year 2002. Seven earlier studies1 by the Construction Industry Research and Policy Center (CIRPC) analyzed the causes of fatal events in this industry in 1991-1992, 1993-1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.

II. Data

The data analyzed in this report, provided by OSHA from Form 170’s, consist of narrative descriptions of the 719 fatal events inspected by OSHA resulting from accidents which occurred in construction during calendar year 2002. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 provides States with the option of administrating the Act themselves or accepting Federal administration of the Act. Twenty-nine States and the District of Columbia chose administration under the Federal System, and the remaining 21 States and two Territories chose self-administration under State Plans2.

In this report, as in earlier reports, analysis includes all OSHA-inspected fatal construction accidents regardless of Federal or State administration.

Also, as in the earlier studies, non-accidental fatalities on construction sites or contractor yards (such as deaths from non-work related heart attacks, strokes, seizures, etc.) and fatalities of construction workers killed off-site in traffic accidents were excluded from the analysis; these fatalities accounted for about 3 percent of OSHA-inspected fatal construction events in 1991-2001 but about 6 percent in 2002. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires employers to report fatalities to OSHA within eight hours of the occurrence of the event, all fatalities on construction sites are not inspected by OSHA; for example, OSHA does not inspect fatal construction events involving independent contractors with no employees. Therefore, the results reported upon here do not provide a year-to-year analysis of changes in the absolute number of fatal events or individuals killed on construction sites.

Each narrative record typically consists of a brief description of the event leading to the fatality, although this is not always the case. Where the narrative description was omitted, inconclusive or completely unclear the event cause was coded “unknown cause or other”; otherwise each narrative was analyzed and classified into one of 31 cause categories, although a great deal of collective judgment was often required to classify the cause of many of the accidents.

This report also includes the following classification of each fatal event according to coding by the OSHA compliance officer who investigated the accident: (1) type of construction (new or addition, alteration or rehabilitation, maintenance or repair, demolition, other); (2) estimate of total project value (seven dollar-value categories beginning with “under $50,000” and ending with “$20,000,000 and over”); (3) 17 end-use categories, such as “single-family housing,” “multi-family building,” “commercial building,” “street or highway,” etc.; and (4) the construction operation being performed that caused the fatal event (selected from a list of construction operations such as “backfilling and compacting,” “cutting concrete pavement,” “erecting structural steel,” “installing equipment (HVAC and other,” etc.). However, CIRPC’s review of over 1200 case files of fatal construction events occurring in 1997, 1998 and 1999 revealed that coded data for an event were sometimes internally inconsistent or did not comport with corresponding narrative descriptions. Consequently, the data analyzed in this report are restricted to the direct causes of the fatal events where the authors were able, in most cases, to classify the events with relative certainty according to 31 types of causes, essentially the same types as were used in CIRPC’s previous fatality studies. However, coded data are included in Appendix C for the following: (1) end-use of structure; (2) type of construction; (3) occupation of the victim(s); (4) contract value of the construction project; and (5) construction operation associated with the fatality.

In classifying the events a rule of primacy was followed for multiple-cause fatalities (representing less than 1 percent of the fatality events in this study and the earlier studies cited): the first cause in the chain of causes was recorded as the cause of the fatal event. Definitions of the causes are shown in Appendix A.

III. Analysis

    A. Distribution of Fatal Events by Cause
Table 1 shows the cause classification system, the number of times each cause represented a fatal event in 2002, the relative frequency of each cause and the number of victims killed3. It can be seen that “fall from/through roof” led all other causes in number of fatal events (85 or 11.8 percent of total fatal events), followed by “fall from/with structure” (64 or 8.9 percent). The third leading cause was “crushed/run-over of non-operator by operating construction equipment” (54 or 7.5 percent); the fourth leading cause was “electric shock from equipment installation/tool use” (47 or 6.5 percent); the fifth leading cause was “lifting operations” (45 or 6.3 percent); and the sixth leading cause was “electrocution by equipment contacting wire” (41 or 5.7 percent). The number and relative frequencies of the remaining causes of the 719 fatal events analyzed may be read directly from Table 1. (Comparative frequencies for earlier years are shown in Figures B1 through B4 in Appendix B.)

Table 1. Construction Fatality Event Causes, 2002

Number of Events and Victims
Event Causes
Description
Events
Victims
Percent of Events
1.
 asphyxiation/inhalation of toxic vapor
14
17
1.9
2.
 caught in/struck by stationary equipment
6
6
0.8
3.
 crushed from collapse of structure
26
30
3.6
4.
 crushed/run-over of non-operator by operating construction equipment
54
54
7.5
5.
 crushed/run-over/trapped of operator by operating construction equipment
36
36
5.0
6.
 crushed/run-over by construction equipment during maintenance/modification
17
17
2.4
7.
 crushed/run-over by highway vehicle
24
25
3.3
8.
 drown, non-lethal fall
8
8
1.1
9.
 electric shock by touching exposed wire
22
22
3.1
10.
 electric shock by equipment contacting power source
41
42
5.7

     
Event
Percent
  a. ladder
13
1.8
  b. scaffold
3
0.4
  c. crane/lifting equipment/boom/dump truck
20
2.8
  d contact while handling materials such as gutters, iron rods, etc.
5
0.7

11.
 electric shock from equipment installation/tool use
47
47
6.5
12.
 electric shock, other
0
0
0.0
13.
 elevator (struck/crushed by elevator or counter weights)
4
4
0.6
14.
 fall from/with ladder: includes collapse/fall of ladder
37
37
5.1
15.
 fall from/through roof
85
85
11.8
16.
 fall from highway vehicle/construction equipment
6
6
0.8
17.
 fall from/with scaffold
21
21
2.9
18.
 fall from/with bucket (aerial lift/basket)
18
20
2.5
19.
 fall from/with structure (other than roof)
64
66
8.9

     
Event
Percent
  a. fall with collapse of structure
20
2.8

20.
 fall from/with platform or catwalk
9
10
1.3
21.
 fall through opening (other than roof)
19
19
2.6
22.
 fall, other or unknown
10
10
1.4
23.
 fire/explosion/scalding
11
12
1.5
24.
 hyperthermia/hypothermia
8
8
1.1
25.
 hit, crushed, fall during lifting operations
45
50
6.3
26.
 struck by falling object/projectile (including tip-overs)
28
28
3.9
27.
 crushed/suffocation from trench collapse
29
29
4.0
28.
 crushed while unloading-loading equipment/material (except by crane)
15
15
2.1
29.
 shock/burn from lightning
4
4
0.6
30.
 crushed other
6
6
0.8
31.
 unknown cause or other
5
5
0.7
   
719
739
100.00

At the risk of misleading the reader by over generalizing, it may be informative to describe frequently occurring specific examples of situations leading to the 10 most frequent causes of fatal events listed in Table 1.

    Falls from /with/through Roofs. An inattentive roofer or laborer without fall protection walks backward and off the roof or steps into a skylight opening or on to a covered skylight opening.

    Falls from/with Structures. An ironworker without fall protection slips or loses balance while erecting steel frame and falls or a carpenter or an ironworker falls as a result of a collapsing structure or structural component (31.2 percent of falls from/with structures were caused by collapses.)

    Crushed, Run-over, Non-operator. A laborer guiding trucks while backing up, a grade checker or a laborer performing site clean-up in proximity of excavating machinery is run-over after getting out of the line-of-sight of an operator/driver.

    Electrocution by…An electrician, helper or lineman working “hot” inadvertently contacts an energized source by body, uninsulated tool or jumper.

    Lifting Operations… An improperly rigged load slips out of its sling or the sling breaks and the load falls on a worker.

    Equipment Contacting Electric Line. Lifting equipment, such as a crane or lull, or a ladder is positioned into an overhead electric line resulting in the electrocution of the worker who becomes a ground.

    Falls from/with Ladder. An improperly placed ladder slips, resulting in the fatal fall of a painter or roofer.

    Crushed/Run-over…Operator. Mobile construction equipment, such as dozers and fork lifts, goes over an embankment and rolls over or rolls over when encountering uneven terrain, resulting in the crushing of the operator. – (The operator may be crushed inside the equipment or crushed by the equipment while trying to escape.)

    Trench Collapse. A laborer or pipelayer is working in an unprotected trench (without sloping, shoring or trench box) and a trench wall collapses, killing the worker.

    Struck by Falling Object/Projectile… There were a wide variety of situations in which this type of event occurred, and no typical pattern was evident. Examples of situations were: struck by nails from nail guns, struck by cap on a pressurized line, debris falling during demolition, equipment falling from roof and falling trees.

The number of victims killed by each cause is also shown in Table 1 where it can be seen that in most events only one worker was killed per event. (In one cause category no workers were killed, “electric shock, other”.) There were 21 fatality causes where no event had multiple fatalities; only 9 fatality causes included events with multiple fatalities. “Asphyxiation/inhalation of toxic vapors” was the fatality cause which had the most victims killed per event, i.e., 14  vents and 17 victims or 1.2 victims per event.Table 2 shows a comparison of the ranks of the causes in 2002 with the average rank of the causes of fatal events during the period 1991 - 2001. It can be seen that the overall rank pattern of the causes in 2002 is very similar to the rank pattern in 1991 – 2001. An overall statistical comparison of the correlation of the rank in 2002 with the average rank in 1991-2001 was calculated using a Spearman rank correlation procedure4. The correlation obtained was + .94, p < .001, indicating that the ranks of the causes in the two time periods are highly and positively correlated, i.e., did not change significantly between 1991 – 2001 and 20025. Since averaging the 1991 – 2001 ranks removed inter-year variance, a somewhat lower correlation would be expected between 2001 and 2002 ranks of causes, i.e., a measure of the short-term

cycle as opposed to a longer-term trend. The Spearman rank-order correlation between 2001 and 2002 causes was calculated and found to be insignificantly higher, + .96, p < .001, indicating that the 1991-2000 pattern changed very little between 2001 and 2002.

Table 2. Comparison of Ranks of Causes of Fatal Events in 1991 - 2001 with 2002

 
1991-2001 Average
2002
Event
Number
Percent
Rank
Number
Percent
Rank
1. asphyxiation/inhalation of toxic vapor
6.6
1.1
22
14
2.0
19
2. caught in/struck by stationary equipment
5.7
0.9
23
6
0.8
26
3. crushed from collapse of structure
25.6
4.2
9
26
3.6
11
4. crushed/run-over of non-operator by operating construction equipment
47.2
7.7
3
54
7.6
3
5. crushed/run-over/trapped of operator by operating construction equipment
32.4
5.3
6
36
5.0
8
6. crushed/run-over by construction equipment during maintenance /modification
12.2
2.0
20
17
2.4
17
7. crushed/run-over by highway vehicle
24.2
3.9
12
24
3.4
12
8. drown, non-lethal fall
5.6
0.9
24
8
1.1
24
9. electric shock by touching exposed wire
25.4
4.1
10
22
3.1
13
10. electric shock by equipment contacting power source
46.3
7.5
4
41
5.7
6
11. electric shock from equipment installation/tool use
28.0
4.6
8
47
6.6
4
12. electric shock, other
4.8
0.8
26
0
0.0
29
13. elevator (struck/crushed by elevator or counter weights)
2.7
0.4
29
4
0.6
28
14. fall from/with ladder: includes collapse/fall of ladder
24.7
4.0
11
37
5.2
7
15. fall from/through roof
69.6
11.3
1
85
11.9
1
16. fall from highway vehicle/construction equipment
5.3
0.9
25
6
0.8
26
17. fall from/with scaffold
20.5
3.3
14
21
2.9
14
18. fall from/with bucket (aerial lift/basket)
12.5
2.0
19
18
2.5
16
19. fall from/with structure (other than roof)
49.8
8.1
2
64
9.0
2
20. fall from/with platform or catwalk
14.9
2.4
17
9
1.3
23
21. fall through opening (other than roof)
16.3
2.6
15
19
2.7
15
22. fall, other or unknown
4.5
0.7
27
10
1.4
21
23. fire/explosion/scalding
14.1
2.3
18
11
1.5
20
24. hyperthermia/hypothermia
3.6
0.6
28
8
1.1
24
25. hit, crushed, fall during lifting operations
32.9
5.4
5
45
6.3
5
26. struck by falling object/projectile (including tip-overs)
24.1
3.9
13
28
3.9
10
27. crushed/suffocation from trench collapse
29.0
4.7
7
29
4.1
9
28. crushed while unloading-loading equipment/material (except by crane)
11.2
1.8
21
15
2.1
18
29. shock/burn from lightning
15.2
2.5
16
10
1.4
21
 
615.0
100.0
714
100.0


The correlation result is not surprising given that the general composition of construction output, and therefore the mix of construction operations required to produce the output, was probably very similar during the time periods examined. This interpretation implies that the rank of a cause is a function of the magnitude of exposure to the cause and/or the inherent danger associated with the cause.

While the number of OSHA-inspected fatal construction events caused by accidents have had an upward trend since 1991, employment in construction establishments has also increased6. The trend of these fatal events per 100,000 construction establishment employees is as follows: 1991 – 1992: 13.1; 1993 – 1994: 11.8; 1995: 11.4; 1996: 10.5; 1997: 10.6; 1998: 10.4; 1999: 11.0; 2000: 9.5; 2001: 10.8; and 2002: 10.7.

APPENDIX A

Definitions of Fatality Causes

    1. asphyxiation/inhalation of toxic vapor: lack of oxygen and/or inhalation of toxic gas, (excluding asphyxiation resulting from fire/explosion).

2. caught in/struck by stationary equipment: body or clothing caught pulling worker into equipment.

3. collapse of structure: building or other structure falling on worker, not including falling ladder, scaffold, aerial lift/ basket, platform, with a structure, trench collapse, or wall (earthen) collapse.

4. crushed/run-over of non-operator by operating construction equipment: non-operator run-over or crushed between equipment and ground or another object by an operator controlled piece of construction equipment.

5. crushed/run-over/trapped of operator by operating construction equipment: includes rollover and catching of body in equipment or between equipment and ground or other object while operating the equipment.

6. crushed/run-over by construction equipment during maintenance/ modification: includes equipment/parts falling on worker while assembling or disassembling equipment.

7. crushed/run-over by highway vehicle: any run-over by non-construction equipment, including trains.

8. drown, non-lethal fall: non-lethal falls into water and flooding of container, trenches, etc.

9. electrocution by touching exposed wire/source: body part contacting the wire/source except when installing equipment or using a tool.

10. electrocution by equipment contacting wire

    a. ladder
    b. scaffold
    c. crane/lifting equipment/boom/dump truck:
    d. other: contact while handling materials, e g. gutters, iron rods, painting equipment, etc.

11. electrocution from equipment installation/tool use: includes failure to de-energize equipment, inappropriate energizing, contacting energized part with tool or body, and inadequately grounded tools or exposed tool wires.

12. electric shock, other and unknown cause

13. elevator (struck/crushed by elevator or counter-weights):

14. fall from/with ladder: includes collapse/fall of ladder.

15. fall from roof; fall through roof: skylight or other opening.

16. fall from vehicle (vehicle/construction equipment): falls from vehicle or equipment while in motion or at rest.

17. fall from/with scaffold: includes collapse/fall of scaffold.

18. fall from/with bucket (aerial lift/basket): includes collapse/fall of bucket.

19. fall from/with structure (other than roof): fall through opening in the side or through the floor (not opening in the floor) and with the structure in a collapse.

    a. fall with collapse of structure

20. fall from/with platform or catwalk (attached to structure: includes collapse/fall of platform.

21. fall through opening (other than roof): falls through stairwells, equipment openings, or other openings in a floor.

22. fall, other or unknown

23. fire/explosion/scalding, excluding electrical burns/explosions

24. heat/hypothermia

25. lifting operations: failure of equipment, inappropriate lifting, and all loading and unloading by crane operations except electrocution. (Includes objects falling and striking victim during lifting operation).

26. struck by falling object/projectile (including tip-overs): does not include collapse of structure, trench, earthen wall, or lifting operations.

27. trench collapse: includes earthen wall

28. unloading-loading equipment/material (except by crane): includes slipping and tipping over of construction equipment/material while loading and unloading.

29. lightning

30. crushed

31. unknown cause or other

APPENDIX B

Figure B1. Comparison of Construction Fatality Events (1995-2001 with 2002)

Figure B2. Frequency of Causes of Construction Fatality Events (2002)

Figure B3. Frequency of Causes of Construction Fatality Events (1995–2001)

Figure B4. Comparison of Construction Fatality Causes - Combined Categories (Pooled Years 1995-2001 with 2002)


APPENDIX C

Table C1. Construction Fatal Events by End-Use Type, 2002

End Use

 

Number of

 

Cumulative

Type

Description

Frequency

Percent

Percent

 

 

 

 

 

1

Bridge

22

3.04

3.04

2

Commercial Building

148

20.47

23.51

3

Contractor’s Yard/Facility

4

0.55

24.07

4

Excavation, Landfill

16

2.21

26.28

5

Highway, Road, Street

84

11.62

37.90

6

Manufacturing Plant

30

4.15

42.05

7

Multi-Family Dwelling

60

8.30

50.35

8

Other Building

101

13.97

64.32

9

Other Heavy Construction

25

3.46

67.77

10

Pipeline

15

2.07

69.85

11

Powerline, Transmission Line

29

4.01

73.86

12

Powerplant

10

1.38

75.24

13

Refinery

4

0.55

75.80

14

Sewer/Water Treatment Plant

14

1.94

77.73

15

Shoreline Development, Dam, Reservoir

7

0.97

78.70

16

Single Family or Duplex Dwelling

130

17.98

96.68

17

Tower, Tank, Storage Elevator

24

3.32

100.00

 

 

723

100.0 0

 

The coding for these data could not be verified.
OSHA records included four events for which there was no narrative statement; therefore, the total in this table differ from the total in Table 1.

Table C2. Construction Fatal Events by Type of Project, 2002

Project

 

Number of

 

Cumulative

Type

Description

Frequency

Percent

Frequency

 

 

 

 

 

1

New, Addition and Alteration Construction

711

98.34

98.34

2

Maintenance, Repair and Demolition

6

0.83

99.17

3

Other

6

0.83

100.00

 

 

723

100.00

 

The coding for these data could not be verified.
OSHA records included four events for which there was no narrative statement; therefore, the total in this table differ from the total in Table 1.

Table C3. Construction Fatal Events by Four-Digit SIC, 2002

Code

Description

SIC

Number of Frequency

Percent

Cumulative Percent

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

General Contractors - Single Family Houses

1521

28

3.87

3.87

2

General Contractors - Residential Buildings Other than Single Family

1522

11

1.52

5.39

3

Operative Builders - Single Family Housing, Multi-family Housing, Manufacturing, Light Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Buildings

1531

5

0.69

6.09

4

General Contractors - Industrial Building and Warehouses

1541

19

2.63

8.70

5

General Contractors - Non-residential Buildings, other than Industrial and Warehouse

1542

43

5.95

14.66

6

Highway and Street Construction, Except Elevated Highways

1611

60

8.30

22.96

7

Bridge, Tunnel, and Elevated Highway Construction

1622

17

2.35

25.31

8

Water, Sewer, Pipeline, and Communications and Power Line Construction

1623

52

7.19

32.50

9

Heavy Construction, Not Elsewhere Classified

1629

32

4.43

36.93

10

Plumbing, Heating and Air-Conditioning

1711

37

5.12

42.05

11

Painting and Paper Hanging

1721

31

4.29

46.33

12

Electrical Work

1731

58

8.02

54.36

13

Masonry, Stone Setting, and Other Stone Work

1741

22

3.04

57.40

14

Plastering, Drywall, Acoustical, and Insulation Work

1742

10

1.38

58.78

16

Carpentry Work

1751

32

4.43

63.21

18

Roofing, Siding, and Sheet Metal Work

1761

74

10.24

73.44

19

Concrete Work

1771

25

3.46

76.90

20

Water Well Drilling

1781

1

0.14

77.04

21

Structural Steel Erection

1791

46

6.36

83.40

22

Glass and Glazing Work

1793

1

0.14

83.54

23

Excavation Work

1794

29

4.01

87.55

24

Wrecking and Demolition Work

1795

11

1.52

89.07

25

Installation or Erection of Building Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified

1796

15

2.07

91.15

26

Special Trade Contractors, Not Elsewhere Classified

1799

64

8.85

100.00

     
723
100.00
  

The coding for these data could not be verified.
OSHA records included four events for which there was no narrative statement; therefore, the total in this table differ from the total in Table 1.

Table C4. Construction Fatal Events by Project Value, 2002

Project Value Code Description
Number of Frequency
Pecent
Cumulative Percent
1 Under $50,000
218
30.15
30.15
2 $50,000-$250,000
129
17.84
47.99
3 $250,000-$500,000
63
8.71
56.71
4 $500,000-$1,000,000
67
9.27
65.98
5 $1,000,000-$5,000,000
109
15.08
81.05
6 $5,000,000-$20,000,000
84
11.62
92.67
7 $20,000,000 and over
53
7.33
100.00
   
723
100.0
  

The coding for these data could not be verified.
OSHA records included four events for which there was no narrative statement; therefore, the total in this table differ from the total in Table 1.

Table C5. Construction Fatal Events by Construction Operation, 2002

Code
Description
Frequency
Percent of Events

2002

Backfilling and compacting

23

3.18

02

Bituminous concrete placement

3

0.41

04

Cutting concrete pavement

4

0.55

05

Demolition

23

3.18

06

Dredging

3

0.41

07

Elevator, escalator installation

6

0.83

08

 

7

0.97

09

Erecting structural steel

32

4.43

10

Erection of coffer dams, caissons

1

0.14

11

Excavation

28

3.87

12

Exterior masonry

20

2.77

13

Exterior cladding

6

0.83

14

Exterior carpentry

43

5.95

15

Exterior painting

17

2.35

16

Fencing, installing lights, signs, etc.

17

2.35

17

Fireproofing

2

0.28

18

Forming

9

1.24

19

Forming for piers or pylons

7

0.97

20

Installing interior walls, ceilings, doors

7

0.97

21

Installing metal siding

1

0.14

22

Installing windows and doors, glazing

5

0.69

23

Installing culverts and incidental drainage

11

1.52

24

Installing equipment (HVAC and other)

35

4.84

25

Installing plumbing, lighting fixtures

17

2.35

26

Installing underground plumbing conduit

6

0.83

28

Interior masonry

7

0.97

29

Interior plumbing, ducting, electrical work

19

2.63

30

Interior carpentry

13

1.80

31

Interior painting and decorating

13

1.80

32

Landscaping

8

1.11

33

Loading dock forming and pouring

1

0.14

34

Paving

28

3.87

35

Pile driving

6

0.83

36

Placing bridge deck

4

0.55

37

Placing bridge girders and beams

4

0.55

38

Plastering

1

0.14

39

Pouring or installing floor decks

2

0.28

40

Pouring concrete floor at grade

2

0.28

41

Pouring concrete for piers, and pylons

2

0.28

42

Pouring concrete foundations and walls

4

0.55

43

Roofing

70

9.68

44

Seawall construction , riprap placement

2

0.28

45

Site clearing and grubbing

12

1.66

46

Site grading and rock removal

11

1.52

47

Stripping and curing concrete

6

0.83

48

Surveying

1

0.14

50

Temporary work (buildings, facilities)

35

4.84

51

Traffic protection

13

1.80

52

Trenching, installing pipe

21

2.90

53

Waterproofing

7

0.97

54

Steel Erection of Solid Web-Connecting

1

0.14

55

Steel Erection Of Solid Web-Bolting-Up/Detail Work

1

0.14

56

Steel Erection Of Solid Web-Welding/Burning/Grinding

3

0.41

59

Steel Erection Of Solid Web-Landing Materials (Hoisting)

3

0.41

60

Steel Erection Of Open Web Steel Joists-Connecting

2

0.28

61

Steel Erection Of Open Web Steel Joists-Bolting-Up/Detail Work

2

0.28

62

Steel Erection Of Open Web Steel Joists-Welding/Burning/Grinding

3

0.41

63

Steel Erection of open Web Steel Joists – Connecting

1

0.14

64

Steel Erection Of Open Web Steel Joists-Moving Point to Point

1

0.14

66

Installation Of Decking-Initial Laying Deck (Including Layout & Safety)

13

1.80

68

Installation Of Decking-Flashing Of Decking

1

0.14

70

Other Activities-Installing Ornamental And Architectural Steel

1

0.14

71

Other Activities-Post Decking Detail Work

7

0.97

00

Unknown

59

8.16

 

 

723

100.0

The coding for these data could not be verified.
OSHA records included four events for which there was no narrative statement; therefore, the total in this table differ from the total in Table 1.

1. An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 1991-1992 (1993), An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 1993-1994 (1995), An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 1995 (1996), An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 1996 (1997), An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 1997 (1999), An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 1998 (2000), An Analysis of Fatal Events in Construction, 1999 (2001), An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 2000 (2002), and An Analysis of Fatal Events in the Construction Industry, 2001 (2003), Construction Industry Research and Policy Center , University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

2. States in the Federal System are: AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, KS, LA, ME, MA, MS, MO, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NY, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SD, TX, WV and WI. States and Territories under State Plans are: AK, AZ, CA, HI, IN, IA, KY, MD, MI, MN, NV, NM, NC, OR, PR, SC, TN, UT, VT, VI, VA, WA and WY.

3. Each event included at least one person killed and in several events additional workers were killed or injured.

4. Sidney Siegel, Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1956), p. 219.

5. Five of the 719 fatal events in 2002 and 17 of 719 fatal events in 2001 had either no narrative or a narrative too incomplete to classify the cause of fatality. These records were coded as “unknown” cause; this was not done in prior years. They were omitted from the calculation of the Spearman Rank correlation in order to avoid data distortion.

6. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment, Hours, and Earnings.

* Includes fatalities resulting from asphyxiation/fire/explosion/drowning of trapped operators.





Copyright © 2024 CPWR logo