Construction work is a crucial part of our society. Workers put their livelihoods and lives on the line every day in effort to maintain or expand our infrastructure. Thanks to construction we can repair roads and bridges or build new schools. Unfortunately, this work comes with many risks for everyone on all jobsites.
Jobsite safety remains as important as ever for New York construction workers. With important and physical work like construction, there are bound to be hazards. The last three years have proven to be no exception, according to the reporting of various groups.
Construction-related accidents and fatalities were up 18.3 percent in July 2018 from the same time the year before. Manhattan continued being the most dangerous borough for construction workers. Data for the full 2018 calendar year are not yet available.
Construction workers most at risk
When it comes to fatal accidents, construction workers are statistically in the most at-risk industry. Twenty-five percent of all fatal workplace injuries occurred in the construction and extraction industry in 2017.
Of the 20 construction-related fatalities, 11 of those occurred in building construction. Residential construction proved more dangerous than non-residential with seven of those 11. The other nine fatalities involved foundation and structure specialists and electrical contractors.
Falls among the most common injuries
While “other” was the most common type of construction injury reported, that ambiguity makes it difficult to advise for prevention. The most common specific cause of jobsite injuries after “miscellaneous” is falls. Wearing proper footwear, inspecting equipment like harnesses before use and reporting unsafe conditions are things workers can do to help reduce this number.