Safety Tidbit 5.12 - Construction's Fatal Four

Safety Tidbit 5.12 – Construction’s Fatal Four

Reference: https://www.osha.gov/data/commonstats

This Safety Tidbit was written by my student, Ms. Paige Graham – a senior in the Safety Sciences Program at Indiana University of PA graduating Summer 2020.

OSHA's data and statistics continue to share the number of fatalities each year in all occupational settings. Out of the 1000 employees that were killed in The United States in construction in 2018, the Fatal Four, as they are known, are responsible for 591 of the deaths, totaling 1 of every 5 workers in construction are killed by one of the fatal four categories. Every year, construction continues to make up more than 20% of fatality rates in all industries. OSHA labeled Falls, Electrocution, Struck By, and Caught-In/Between as the “Fatal Four of Construction.” These hazards are responsible for almost 60% of the fatalities in construction, alone. Out of the 10 most cited OSHA standards, seven of them apply to the Fatal Four. 

By far the leader of the “Fatal Four” are falls making up 33.5 % of all fatalities in construction. Falls include tripping, falling off buildings, scaffolds, or ladders, slipping on any wet or oily substances, and more. The Fall Protection standard, the scaffold standard, and ladder standard are three of the 10 most cited standards. 

Struck-By fatalities consist of a person being hit by a powered vehicle, flying debris during a task, or from objects falling on the job site. Eleven percent (11%) of fatalities in construction fall under this Fatal Four category. 

Electrocution in construction is responsible for about 8.5 % of the fatalities and are mostly due to improperly de-energizing equipment and working on energized overhead power lines. 

Caught-in/Between include the remaining 5.5% of the fatalities in the Fatal Four. These fatalities occurred when the employee was compressed by equipment or crushed/caught in collapsed material. 

OSHA provides many useful tips and recommendations on how to prevent injuries from the Fatal Four in construction, as well as other industries. They also encourage others to help decrease the number of fatalities in construction. Although fatalities in all occupations have decreased through the years, there are still many employees losing their lives to workplace accidents that are senseless and preventable.

I hope this was helpful and thank you for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have a new safety or health question, please let me know.