U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been focusing its enforcement and collaboration resources to reduce fatalities in the construction industry, and for two areas the efforts are paying off. The construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries in the US. OSHA is tasked with setting standards to reduce injuries and fatalities, enforcing those standards, investigating accidents, and penalizing rulebreakers. In the past few years, the organization has enacted campaigns to reduce worker fatalities, and some areas are seeing a dramatic downtrend. At Tucker Paving, the safety of our employees is our primary concern on every worksite, and we know that everyone—from the company President to the newly hired team member—is responsible for safety. See the two areas in the construction industry where fatalities are trending down.
Fatalities Trending Down
OSHA has made a push to combat the fatalities in the construction industry, enacting national programs and engaging unions, workers, and employers alike to educate on safety. The organization maintained that so far in 2024 there are two areas in the construction industry where the number of fatalities are decreasing. They are:
Falls. Falls—including slips and trips—are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, accounting for over 38% of all deaths in construction in 2022. OSHA shared that they investigated 189 fatal falls in the construction industry in 2024, which was a 20 percent decrease from the 234 deaths investigated in 2023. Programs like OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction are part of the outreach and education efforts that are undoubtedly responsible for the happy decrease in fatalities.
Trench Collapses. Tucker Paving takes this one to heart, as we complete site clearing, excavation, and demolition work, and often conduct trenching work. Thankfully, deaths in the construction industry due to trench collapses have fallen 70% in the last two years. In 2022, OSHA investigated the deaths of 39 construction workers who lost their lives to trench collapses; in 2023, that number fell to 15 deaths, and 2024 saw the number decrease even further to just 12 fatalities. OSHA’s Trench Safety Stand Down and their “Slope It, Shore It, Shield It” Initiative are a successful part of the organization’s push to end fatalities due to trench collapses.
A Final Thought
While it’s enheartening that fatalities from both falls and trench collapses are decreasing, there are still over 5,000 deaths from work-related incidents in the US every year. The majority of injuries and fatalities are the result of preventable accidents. As every injury and death has immeasurable effects on the worker’s family, friends, and coworkers, there is still much to do to reduce fatalities in the workplace in general and in construction in particular.
Tucker Paving has been serving Central Florida since 1994 in the asphalt and concrete paving industry, and we take safety seriously. We complete projects for residential, commercial, and municipal clients. Contact us by calling (863) 299-2262, or use our contact form online. How can we help you with your next concrete or asphalt paving project?
