Nonfatal Construction Injuries Down in 2009

Foundation Software The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that nonfatal construction injuries and illnesses were down by 71,700 cases, or 22 percent, in 2009.   That brings the incidence rate down by 0.4 cases to 4.3 cases per 100 workers.

Despite the steady decline in incidences, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said of the new data, “We are concerned about the widespread existence of programs that discourage workers from reporting injuries, and we will continue to issue citations and penalties to employers that intentionally under-report workplace injuries.”

“We"re pleased with the new BLS numbers, which illustrate a continued decrease in non-fatal injury and illnesses in the construction industry,” said ABC Director of Safety Chris Williams. “These numbers show that our industry's long-term, proactive commitment to safety training continues to provide positive results.

“ABC members aim to have "zero accident" worksites because they understand that jobsite safety and health practices are inherently great for employees and for business,” said Williams. “Our members consistently work to improve overall safety and health in their workplaces in pursuit of this goal. ABC firmly believes that the use of practical compliance assistance—and not enforcement alone—is key to ensuring and enhancing safety in the construction industry.

“Workplace safety is a cooperative effort between employer, employee and regulatory agencies,” Williams said. “Together, we can ensure that every one of our employees returns home safely at the end of each day.”

ABC offers many resources to help its members continually decrease the number of incidences on the jobsite. To support safety awareness, ABC offers the Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) program to its members, which allows member contractors to regularly evaluate and strengthen their programs, yielding safety performance that is consistently better than the industry average.   When compared with national construction average, ABC members that participate in STEP have fatality rates that are 58 percent lower, OSHA injury rates that are 30 percent lower, and 90 percent fewer OSHA citations.  

ABC also offers its members safety classes through its chapters and annual Construction Education Conference, a meeting for construction craft professionals and managers, with the purpose of providing a safe and healthy workplace. Topics include fall protection safety, steel erection safety, electrical safety, scaffolding safety, trenching and excavation safety, OSHA's 10-hour and 30-hour construction outreach, and a 100-hour Construction Site Safety Technician program. Construction safety documents are also available to members for use as a template on which to build their own custom workplace safety programs, policies and procedures.