How Can You Avoid Falls In Construction?

New Jersey construction workers like you face many unique risks on the job. Fall injuries can happen to anyone at any job, but you face a disproportionate risk of them. Fall injuries can also end up more severe in construction due to the heights you work at.

Are there any ways to mitigate these risks? Can you do anything to prevent falls from happening at work?

What are crucial fall injury statistics?

The National Safety Council has statistics on annual falls in the workforce. According to them, 24,700 of the 48,060 fall injuries in 2016 came from the construction industry. Also, 384 of the 697 worker deaths from falls were in construction. This makes construction one of the most dangerous fields to work in, in terms of fall risk.

Falling from a height increases your chance of suffering injury. But this is not the only source. It may surprise you to know that 134 of these deaths happened on the same level the worker was working on. In other words, height is not the only factor that should concern you.

Ways to prevent falls

As such, avoiding falls should involve many methods of detecting and avoiding danger. For example, always examine your workspace before you use a ladder or begin to climb. Never use faulty equipment. Always remember to check your equipment before use. It helps to double-check even if someone before you has stated your items are safe for use.

Always follow proper safety protocol, too. This means using ladders and climbing equipment as intended. Never misuse a tool or use it for a purpose it was not made for. And remember to always work with at least one other person on site. Potential incidents can often end up circumvented just by having an extra pair of eyes on you.