OSHA’s Focus Four Campaign addresses the four leading causes of fatal injuries in construction. For the past seven years (May 2011) OSHA has mandated that as a part of all OSHA 10 and 30-hour class the Focus Four topics are allotted a minimum of 4 hours for the 10-hour class and 6 hours for the 30-hour class. The leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls, followed by struck-by, electrocution, and caught-in/between. As this is the second campaign set out by OSHA we have seen some of the numbers decrease however we need to keep these killers in front of us at all times. Below is an excerpt from a letter sent out by OSHA giving us some updated information and statistics on the Focus Four Hazards.
For more information regarding OSHA’s Focus Four Initiative, and ways to prevent accidents from occurring follow the link below which will take you directly to OSHA’s post on Focus Four Initiative.
OSHA’ Focus Four Initiative:
https://www.osha.gov/dte/outreach/construction/focus_four/
(excerpted from a letter directly from OSHA)
Dear Stakeholder:
OSHA and our construction industry partners have initiated a “Focus Four Hazards” campaign throughout OSHA’s Region III’s jurisdiction. We are reaching out to entities to assist us in promoting this campaign and to encourage your leadership to participate in this four-month cooperative initiative being launched in February 2017. The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness in the recognition, evaluation, and control of these hazards. As noted below, the Focus Four Hazards account for the vast majority of injuries and fatalities in the construction industry.
Construction’s “Fatal Four”
Out of 4,836* worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2015, 937 or 19% were in construction―that is, one in five worker deaths last year were in construction.
The leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls, followed by struck-by, electrocution, and caught-in/between. These “Fatal Four” hazards were responsible for well over half (65.1%) of the construction worker deaths in 2015*, according to BLS reports. Eliminating the Fatal Four would save 602 workers’ lives in America every year.
* Falls — 364 out of 937 total deaths in construction in CY 2015 (38.8%)
* Electrocutions – 81 (8.6%)
* Struck by Object – 90 (9.6%)
* Caught-in/between* – 67 (7.2%) (*This category includes construction workers killed when caught-in or compressed by equipment or objects, and struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material)
Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) has provided the link below with additional information relevant to the Focus Four Hazards as well as providing several tool box talks per topic.
https://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/mosh/moshfftb.shtml
(excerpted from MOSH website)
Did you know:
“Electrocutions from equipment installation or tool use jumped to the second leading fatal cause for the 3rd quarter in 2016. This is an increase of 400% over the previous quarter and more than double the total events for the year to date.”
I strongly recommend utilizing both the OSHA and MOSH websites for information and training materials pertaining to the Focus Four Campaign.
Stay Safe,
Terry L. Foy
President/CEO
Foy Safety Consulting, Inc. www.foysafety.com
410-446-3995