Safety Doesn’t Just Lower Costs—It Saves Lives
A local construction worker recently died on the job after falling from a second story garage roof onto a concrete floor. A 28-foot fall from a scissor lift fatally injured another worker, while two others were killed in vehicular mishaps. These workplace deaths happened on Washington state jobsites in just the last year and a half. All were preventable.
Despite the preventable nature of most injuries, the construction industry is still more dangerous for workers than it has to be. More dangerous than working for police and fire departments.
According to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) at the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), there have already been 17 workplace fatalities in Washington this year after 53 last year (note: this includes several COVID-related cases). Eight of these were construction-related.
Nationally, construction accounts for one in five workplace fatalities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 1,102 fatal injuries in the U.S. construction industry in 2019—nearly 21 percent of total fatalities across all sectors. In 2020, over one-third of these deaths were “due to falls, slips, and trips,” accounting for nearly half of such accidents across all industries.
The point of sharing these grim statistics isn’t to scare you. It’s to underline just how important workplace safety is.
Average workplace injuries can cost you time and labor power, explode your budget, and raise your L&I premiums. Serious preventable injuries, including ones resulting in deaths, can land you in court, diminish your brand reputation, and shatter the lives of your employees and their loved ones.
So, how do you keep your employees safe? GRIP can help.
“According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 1,102 fatal injuries in the U.S. construction industry in 2019—nearly 21 percent of total fatalities across all sectors.”
GRIP can help you create a safety program focused on prevention. We can show you how to develop a culture of safety wherein you lead by example, provide ongoing training and education to all staff, use positive reinforcement to instill best practices, and stay laser-focused on curbing unsafe behavior.
GRIP can also help you address the most pernicious issues, what DOSH calls the Fatal Four. Falls are the most common—usually caused by improper fall protection and surface hazards—followed by being struck by objects, electrocution, and being caught between hazards.
By being aware and vigilant of these risks, you can prevent serious injury and death, and make the whole industry a safer and more desirable place to work.
Aside from saving lives and preventing injuries, putting a safety plan in place can bolster employee morale, improve your brand, help you recruit and retain loyal workers, reduce L&I headaches, lower your comp insurance premiums, and—if you’re a member of GRIP—net you a bigger Retro refund.
Our GRIP experts can help you set up a safety program that will pay dividends. Find out more about the benefits of safety and GRIP by checking out our blog feature Celebrating Your Safety. We all want to work in an industry as safe as it is rewarding. If you’re ready to do your part, sign up for GRIP today!