Construction Hazards: Falls from Ladder Assignment Help

What are the common causative factors?

What does data indicate?

What are the effective proven corrective measures?

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Introduction

Falls are considered as the leading reason of deaths of construction workers on their jobs. It has been determined that about 310 construction workers are killed every year in the United States, while over 10,350 are seriously injured due to falls from heights (CDC NIOSH, 2019). There are various factors that contribute towards the accidents associated with ladder falls in the construction sites. The following discussion would focus towards determination of the various reasons that majorly contribute towards the falls from ladder at the construction sites. The data that are associated with this accident shall also be explored, along with the preventive measures and practices that are undertaken to reduce or prevent the ladder fall at the construction sites.

Common Causative Factors

Ladder fall injuries have become a persistent hazard at construction sites. It has been determined that the leading cause of injuries arising from ladder, that approximate to about 40 per cent of the cases, result due to the sliding out of the ladder at the base, primarily because the ladder was setup at an incorrect angle. In majority of the cases, the ladder users tend to establish the extension at shallower angles instead of setting it at the desired optimal angle of 75.5 degrees (ISHN, 2019). Another reason that is common for the case of ladder fall is the selection of the ladder that lacks appropriate duty rating. It is vital to select the kind of ladder that would have proper duty rating so as to avoid structural failure, which results in fall. However, it has also been determined that the knowledge several of the ladder users lack the knowledge of selecting proper ladder and this safety step often goes ignored (ISHN, 2019). Some of the other major contributors of ladder falls include the following:

1. Lack of safe access

2. The ladder not extending over the roof line

3. Not setting the ladder on a flat or level surface or at the required angle

4. Overloading of the ladder

5. Lack of training to the users of the ladder (CDC NIOSH, 2019)

Data Indicate

As per the reports of CDC NIOSH, (2019) about 104 deaths in 2016 had occurred due to ladder fall in the construction sites. 57 per cent of the deaths in the construction industry occur from ladder falls. It has been determined that within the past decade about 81 per cent of the fall injuries that have been treated in the emergency departments of (EDs) of the United States, which comprises of both fatal as well as non-fatal injuries, have occurred due to fall from ladder at the construction site (CDC NIOSH, 2019). It has been determined that in 2011, the ladder fall injuries related to work have caused about 113 fatalities, while about 15,460 nonfatalities have been reported by the employers and an approximated 34,000 nonfatal injuries have been treated in the Emergency Departments (Socias, Menéndez, Collins, & Simeonov, 2014). The rates of the work related non-fatalladder fall injuries that have been treated at the Emergency Departmentswere greater than other injuries that were reported by the employees and this is estimated to be 2.6 per 10,000 reported injuries and 1.2 per 10,000 reported injuries, respectively (Socias, Menéndez, Collins, & Simeonov, 2014). Ladder fall injuries have represented to be significant public health burden of the preventable injuries for the employees.

Figure: Ladder Fall Fatalities vs Nonfatalities

Effective Proven Corrective Measures

The effective proven corrective measures that can be implemented at the construction sites have been described well by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) (2019). These measures can be listed as follows.

1. Planning ahead of getting the job done: While working from heights, it is important that the employers, plan the project in an effective manner and determine the tasks that the different employees are to do and thereby provide them with the required safety equipment for completing each task (OSHA, 2019). 

2. Providing the appropriate equipment: Each of the employees must be provided with suitable and appropriate equipment that would ascertain that they are prevented from any kind of injury or death that may pertain from the workplace. For protecting the workforce, the employers are needed to provide the suitable fall protection as well as appropriate equipment that are necessary for the job, including the right kind of ladder and safety gear (OSHA, 2019).

3. Training the workforce in using the safety equipment: It is important to train the workforce as how the ladder is to be used, the angle in which they are to be set and the kind of equipment that are to be carried along with, while using a ladder (OSHA, 2019). 

Conclusion

The discussion presented above has detailed the various aspects associated with ladder fall at construction work sites. The discussion also provided the data that is related to the fall rates and have highlighted the appropriate measures that can be used to correct the increasing fatal accidents from ladder falls.