The nature of struck-by accidents

Hinze, J; Huang, X and Terry, L (2005) The nature of struck-by accidents. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 131(2), pp. 262-268. ISSN 0733-9364

Abstract

Construction accidents are broadly categorized into five basic groups, namely falls (from elevation), shock (electrical), caught in/between, struck-by, and other. "Struck-by" accidents accounted for 22% of all construction-related fatalities recorded by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration between 1985 and 1989. Recent (1997 to 2000) data show that the percentage of struck-by accidents constituted 24.6% of the fatalities and serious construction worker injuries. Struck-by accidents primarily involve workers struck by equipment, private vehicles, falling materials, vertically hoisted materials, horizontally transported materials, and trench cave ins. Determining possible causation factors of these accident types is often difficult, due to the broad categories utilized in the accident coding system. This study resulted in gaining insights about the root causes of the struck-by injuries. By finding the root causes, effective methods for accident prevention can be developed.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: accident prevention; construction site accidents; injuries; occupational safety
Index terms: accident prevention, construction site accident, injury, occupational safety, construction accident, construction worker, fatalities, occupational safety and health, falls
Subjects: environmental health, health risk and incident analysis, practitioner, health conditions and diseases, occupational health and safety management
Topics: Roles and Professions, Sustainability, Health and Safety
Descriptive scope: 2 PC

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