The construction industry in the United States ranks among the top industries for injuries and deaths on the job. All stakeholders agree that this situation needs improvement and Assignar construction software has many features that place needed emphasis on safety in the construction industry. When preventable injuries occur, time is lost on the job site, extra funds are spent, and morale suffers.
Construction Injuries and Deaths in the United States by The Numbers
So, just how dangerous is the construction industry? Very dangerous!
- One in ten construction workers is injured on-the-job every year.
- A construction worker with a 45-year career has a 1 in 200 chance of an on-the-job fatality.
- Falls are the most common cause of fatal construction injuries
- The most common OSHA violations on construction sites are related to fall protection.
- Ironwork is the construction job with the highest injury rates
- Among workers less than 18 years old, the construction industry ranks second for injuries in the age group.
- Within the construction industry, 60% of injuries occur during the first year of employment
- 15.7% of all construction are related to exposure
- Construction workers number 15% of reported lead poisoning in the United States.
- Another common cause of accidents in construction is workers becoming trapped or struck by vehicles or heavy equipment.
The above information is sobering and shows a clear need for safety improvement in the construction industry.
What Assignar Can Do to Improve Safety
Construction site safety has many moving parts that include:
- Scheduling of manpower and equipment
- Safety checks
- Equipment maintenance
- Employee safety training
- Compliance with OSHA and other regulatory agencies
Assignar can help provide your construction project with its many features.
Assignar has a robust scheduling function that includes people and equipment. This combined personnel scheduling management and equipment scheduling management ensures that the right people and tools are on site together. When workers have the right equipment, they are less likely to engage in risky behavior leading to injury or death.
When safety checks are scheduled regularly using Assignar, you have an audit trail that can serve to document these checks for regulatory agencies as well as show workers that your construction company cares about their well-being. This improves morale and makes for a safer work site. Sites with scaffolding should check it daily for safety issues.
Using Assignar for logging and scheduling equipment maintenance makes for a safer workplace that has less downtime due to equipment failure. One piece of heavy equipment that fails could cause injuries. Imagine a crane whose stabilizing legs fail and causes it to topple over. If an operator is in the cab there is a good chance they will be injured or even killed. Equipment failure is also costly as crews are idle waiting for equipment repairs.
Regulatory authorities demand that employees have safety training and that the training is relevant and documented. Using Assignar, construction companies can provide up-to-date training with automatic recording of who took training and when. The system also generates reminders when retraining is needed.
