Study Reviews Key Findings of Fatal Injuries at Road Construction Sites

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Working at road construction sites can be dangerous. Between 2011 and 2016, 532 construction workers lost their lives at road construction sites, an average of 89 workers each year. CPWR’s Data Center recently explored road construction fatality trends and causes using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among the key findings: About half of these deaths happened when a worker on foot was struck by a vehicle or mobile heavy equipment (such as a dump truck on the worksite, or a passing car intruding on the worksite) Construction laborers suffered the greatest number of construction fatalities, and both the … Read more

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Hazard Alert: Opioid Deaths in Construction

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More than 42,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2016. An analysis of fatal opioid overdoses in Ohio showed that construction workers were seven times more likely than other workers to die this way. This is shocking and sad, and there are steps that those in the occupational safety and health community can take. While the CPWR agrees workplace injuries should be prevented with programs like its new Best Built Plans, construction workers continue to get hurt on the job and these injuries cause pain. Doctors routinely prescribe opioids for pain. The CDC reports that as many as one out … Read more

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New ‘Best Built Plans’ Program Can Help Reduce Strains, Sprains on Jobsite

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Manually lifting and moving heavy materials on jobsites can result in strain, sprain and related soft tissue injuries. These types of injuries are a leading cause of disabling injuries in the construction industry. Working with a community of practice that included researchers, insurers and industry stakeholders, CPWR’s Research to Practice and Training staff surveyed and interviewed contractors to understand the motivators and barriers to engaging in materials handling practices that would minimize the risks for these types of injuries. Based on their responses, CPWR developed a program, Best Built Plans, to provide contractors and workers with practical tools and information … Read more

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CPWR Announces Skin Cancer Hazard Alert Card

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Summer is here, and millions of construction workers will be spending long work days exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, putting them at elevated risk for skin cancer. The good news is that skin cancer is preventable, and treatable if caught early. CPWR’s new Hazard Alert card explains how construction workers can protect themselves, and how to identify the signs of skin cancer. Copies are available for download in English and Spanish, or contact CPWR to order hard copies of the English pocket-size card.   

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The Construction Chart Book 6th Edition Now Available

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The sixth edition of “The Construction Chart Book: The U.S. Construction Industry and Its Workers” has been released. This Center for Construction Research and Training mainstay, with its extensive statistical portrait of the construction industry, has become an essential reference for all construction stakeholders, such as policymakers, researchers, contractors, labor unions and management, construction workers, safety professionals, trainers and reporters. Take a look inside the new Chart Book and you will learn that: Construction unemployment dropped from a peak of 27.1 percent in February 2010 to 7.5 percent by the end of 2015 (page 20). There were 144,583 active apprentices … Read more

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