Injuries are Preventable!
Young Workers Need Training, Equipment & a Voice
By CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training
Every day workers are injured on the job; many are young workers under the age of 25. In 2017, young workers (16 to 24 years of age) accounted for more than 100,000 or 12% of all job-related injuries.[i] These work-related injuries can be prevented if young workers are trained to recognize hazards, provided with the equipment and tools to work safely, and encouraged to speak up if they need help or feel they are at risk. OSHA’s #MySafeSummerJob campaign, which CPWR is supporting, connects employers, educators, parents – and young workers – to organizations and resources to help prevent injuries this summer.
While there are hazards unique to each industry, falls are a leading cause of injuries and fatalities, and most – if not all, could have been prevented. In 2017, 227,760 workers were injured due to a fall from a height, a slip or a trip, and young workers accounted for more than 19,000 of these injuries.[ii] For workers in the construction industry, falls were the leading cause of death and accounted for more than 24,000 injuries.[iii] That’s why this week, as part of the National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction, employers’ and their employees are taking time to #StandDown4Safety to focus attention on how to recognize and prevent all types of fall hazards – including falls from roofs, scaffolds and ladders, and those caused by slips and trips.
As a result of this national effort, information on
ways to prevent falls is now readily available at stopconstructionfalls.com. While this website’s focus is
on preventing falls in the construction industry, it includes information and
tools for workers in jobs – including summer
jobs – where there is a risk for slipping, tripping or falling. For example, there’s a video on preventing falls from
ladders and how the free NIOSH
Ladder App can help.
For
more information about how to prevent falls in construction and other industries,
and to find out how to recognize and prevent injuries associated with other
construction hazards visit www.cpwr.com, and check
out the free Hazard Alert cards,
toolbox talks and
other resources to keep young workers safe this summer – and throughout the
year.
[i] Bureau of Labor Statistics. TABLE R37. Number of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by industry and age groups, private industry, 2017, https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/cd_r37_2017.htm. (Accessed April 2019).
[ii] Bureau of Labor Statistics. TABLE R60. Number of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by event or exposure leading to injury or illness and age of worker, private industry, 2017, https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcdnew2017.htm. (Accessed April 2019).
[iii] Bureau of Labor Statistics. TABLE R4. Number of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by industry and selected events or exposures leading to injury or illness, private industry, 2017, https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/cd_r4_2017.htm. (Accessed April 2019).
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