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CHAPTER 1 – COST OF ACCIDENTS: WHY SAFETY IS IMPORTANT

CHAPTER 1 – COST OF ACCIDENTS: WHY SAFETY IS IMPORTANT. Accidents. Oxford English Dictionary An occurrence, incident, or event.

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CHAPTER 1 – COST OF ACCIDENTS: WHY SAFETY IS IMPORTANT

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  1. CHAPTER 1 – COST OF ACCIDENTS: WHY SAFETY IS IMPORTANT CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  2. Accidents CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • Oxford English Dictionary • An occurrence, incident, or event. • Anything that happens without foresight or expectation; an unusual event, which proceeds from some unknown cause, or is an unusual effect of a known cause; a casualty, a contingency • Accidents cause damage to employees, property, equipment, and morale as well as company’s bottom line. • Prevailing view: Accident prevention programs are too costly. • Contemporary view: Accidents are too costly, accident prevention makes sense economically.

  3. Accidents • 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. after: • Heart disease • Cancer • Strokes • Natural Disasters  ~ 100 deaths/year • Workplace Accidents  ~ 10,000 deaths/year • On average, 11 accidental deaths and 1,030 disabling injuries per hour. CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  4. Accidental Death Causes CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • The NSC periodically computes death total and death rates in the following categories (all numbers are averages per year): • Motor Vehicle Accidents –47,000 • Falls – 13,000 • Poisoning of Solids and Liquids – 6,000 • Poisoning of Gases and Vapors – 1,000 • Drowning – 5,000 • Fire-related – 4,000 • Suffocation (ingested object) – 4,000 • Firearms – 2,000 • Others – 14,000 (medical complications arising out of mistakes made by healthcare professionals, air transport injuries, interaction with machinery, mechanical suffocation, and the impact of falling objects)

  5. Causes of death – Prime working years CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety Heart disease, cancer and strokes tend to be concentrated among people at or near retirement age. Prime working years: 37 years of age or younger Accidents are No. 1 cause of death among people in prime working years. Employers can have a significant impact on preventing accidents.

  6. Causes of death – Prime working years CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety The causes of death for persons from 25 to 44 years of age:

  7. Deaths in Work Accidents In a typical year, there are 10, 400 work deaths in the U.S. Percentages of total work deaths attributable to selected causes: CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  8. Work Injuries By Type • Overexertion • Working beyond physical limits • Leading Cause (31%) • Impact accidents • Worker being struck by or against an object • Second prominent cause • Falls • Third Prominent Cause CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  9. Work Injuries by Type CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • Bodily Reaction to Chemicals • Compression • Motor Vehicle Accidents • Exposure to Radiation or Caustic Chemicals • Rubbing or Abrasions • Exposure to Extreme Temperatures

  10. Death Rates By Industry CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • Ranking order of most dangerous industries (Workplace deaths) • Mining and quarrying • Agriculture • Construction (Ranks first in workplace injuries) • Transportation/public utilities • Government • Manufacturing • Services • Trade

  11. Parts of Body Injured on Job in Construction CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • From most frequent to least • Back • Legs and fingers • Arms and multiple parts of body • Trunk • Hands • Eyes, head, and feet • Neck, toes, and body systems

  12. Chemical Burn CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • Highest incidences in construction and manufacturing. • Acids, alkalies, cleaning compounds, calcium hydroxide (cement and plaster), potassium hydroxide (drain cleaners), sulfuric acid. • 46% of the chemical burns occur while cleaning equipment, tools and vehicles. • High percentage of chemical burns occur despite the use of personal protective equipment, the provision of safety instruction, and the availability of treatment facilities.

  13. Chemical Burn • Strategy to prevent chemical burns: • Familiarize yourself, the workers, and their supervisors with the chemicals that will be used and the inherent dangers. • Secure the proper personal protection equipment for each type of chemical that will be used. • Provide instruction on the proper use of personal protective equipment and then make sure that supervisors confirm that the equipment is used properly every time. • Monitor workers who are wearing personal equipment and replace it when it begins to show wear. CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  14. Heat Burn Present challenge to construction employees Causes: flame (includes smoke inhalation injuries), molten metal, petroleum asphalt, steam and water. Common activities: Welding, cutting with a torch, working with tar and asphalt, etc. Employees should be familiar with the hazards, should know the appropriate safety precautions, and should have and use the proper personal protection equipment. CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  15. Heat Burn • Construction professionals who understand the following negative factors are in a better position to prevent heat burn injuries: • Employer has no health and safety policy regarding heat hazards. • Employer fails to enforce safety procedures and practices. • Employees are not familiar with the employer’s safety policy and procedures concerning heat hazards. • Employees fail to use or improperly use personal protection equipment CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  16. Heat Burn • Employees have inadequate or worn personal protection equipment. • Employees work in too small a space. • Employees attempt to work too fast, or are pushed to. • Employees are careless. • Employees have poorly maintained tools and equipment. CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  17. Occupational disease (illness) • An occupational disease is defined as a condition produced in the work environment over a period longer than one workday or shift. Usually an illness is due to repetitive factors over a period of time. It may result from systemic infection, repeated stress or strain, exposure to toxins, poisons, fumes, or other continuing conditions of the work environment.

  18. Cost of Accidents CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety Overall cost of accidents in the U.S. = $800 billion annually. These costs include lost wages, medical expenses, insurance administration, fire-related losses, property damage, and indirect costs.

  19. Work Accident Costs and Rates CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • Between 1912 and 2001, accidental work deaths per 100,000 population were reduced from 21 to 4 • In 1912, over 18,000 people lost their lives • In 2001, in a workforce 3x as large producing 11 times the goods and services, there were approximately 10,000 deaths • $420 per worker in U.S. • $610,000 per death • $18,000 per disabling injury • 35 million lost work hours

  20. Categories of Accidents Cost

  21. Cost of Accidents CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety

  22. Indirect Costs of Accidents • Incurred directly by the employer • Not charged, as a rule, to the injury itself • Not easy to quantify (~20% of direct costs) • Indirect losses from Work accidents consists of costs associated with responding to accidents. Such as: • Giving first aid • Filling out accident reports • Handling work slowdowns, etc. • Reduced worker morale • Reduced company image • Lost job opportunities for the firm

  23. Indirect Costs of Accidents CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • Accidents have devastating effect on employee morale. • Colleagues of the injured employee think, “That could have been me” • Employee morale is a less tangible factor which may affect the productivity significantly. • Employees with low morale do not produce up to their maximum potential.

  24. Time Lost Because of Work Injuries CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety According to the National Safety Council, approximately 35 millions hours are lost due to accidents in a typical year. This is the actual time lost from disabling injuries and does not include additional time lost for medical checkups after the employee returns to work. Accidents that occurred in previous years often continue to cause lost time in the current year.

  25. Estimating the Cost of Accidents CEE 698 – Construction Health and Safety • Accidents are expensive, however to be successful, safety-minded construction professionals must be able to show that accidents are more expensive than prevention. • Lost work hours • Involves compiling the total number of lost hours for the period in question and multiplying the hours times the applicable loaded labor rate. • Medical costs • Insurance premiums and administration • Property damage • Fire losses • Indirect costs

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