There are many hazards found on a construction jobsite. Among the potential dangers is the possibility of falling objects. A wrench dropped from a couple hundred feet can strike with the same force as a small car striking a one-square-inch area. It doesn’t take a large object to cause a severe injury when it’s dropped from great heights.
New York is still pushing forward after the death of a worker wearing a hard hat in April after a piece of a crane that slid and crushed the man. In July, New York City ordered the same construction company to cease work on a separate project after a rig collapsed. The city ordered the company to replace the crew on the job and hire an independent monitor to file monthly safety-compliance reports.
Preventing fallen object injuries
Thousands of injury claims from fallen objects are made to OSHA each year. Of course, not all those claims are from construction sites, but few occupations involve working at heights more than construction. You can keep yourself safe on the job in several ways including:
- Anchoring your tools. Experts recommend attaching tools weighing more than five pounds to a sturdy, fixed point on a structure.
- Avoiding overloading machines or tethers. New York City already had one overloading accident this year involving a machine but using a tether that isn’t strong enough to restrain a tool could also send it plummeting back to the ground.
- Wearing proper safety gear. While injury is still possible with things like a hard hat, they may still reduce the severity of your injury and the risk of death.
Safety is worth everyone‘s time
When people take shortcuts at the expense of safety, it’s often workers like you that suffer. Your employer has an obligation to provide a safe workplace and make you aware of proper safety practices. It is sometimes difficult to entirely prevent fallen objects injuries, but there are steps every work can take to preserve the safety of themselves and those around them.