Construction Industry Safety: Fall and Fall Protection issues in the Building and Construction Industry: a Worldwide Issue

Recognising the great risks inherent in construction work and the high cost (financial and human) of construction accidents is the first step in creating a safety culture in any construction industry. The construction industry has been identified as one of the most hazardous industries in many parts of the world, and falls from height are a leading cause of fatalities in construction operations. The construction industry has been characterised as one with a poor safety culture and attempts to improve the safety record will not be fully effective until the safety culture is improved. Despite notions that culture cannot easily be created or engineered, in practice, the creation or enhancement of a safety culture is dependent upon the deliberate manipulation of various organisational management systems. Management’s commitment and involvement in safety is the factor of most importance for a satisfactory safety level. The profound human consequences of workplace tragedies are enormous. In addition, the cost of accidents which are categorised as being either direct or indirect is vast. Direct costs tend to be those associated with the treatment of the injury and any unique compensation offered to workers as a consequence of being injured. Indirect costs are hidden and difficult to estimate. For every single dollar of insured cost paid for accident there are four dollars of uninsured costs borne by the company. This paper offers a review of fall, fall protection and safety culture in construction industry.

Construction Industry Safety: Fall and Fall Protection issues in the Building and Construction Industry: a Worldwide Issue Keywords:

Construction safety , fall , fall protection , safety culture