Construction Injury News

OSHA Issues New Standard To Protect Workers On Scaffolds In Construction, Preventing Thousands Of Injuries As Well As Dozens Of Fatalities Each Year

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a revised standard to protect millions of workers on scaffolds in the construction industry. The new standard will prevent about 4,500 injuries and 50 deaths annually.

An estimated 2.3 million construction workers (about 65 percent of the construction industry work force) work on scaffolds frequently and would be protected by the revised standard.

The rule also will save construction employers at least $90 million annually in costs that would otherwise result from lost workdays due to scaffold-related injuries.

The lives that will be saved and the injuries prevented by the requirements in this new standard are in addition to those deaths and injuries already prevented through compliance with the old scaffolds standard. Employers' savings will far outweigh the costs of compliance, which are estimated at only $12.6 million per year nationwide.

The final rule sets performance-based criteria, where possible, to protect employees from scaffold-related hazards such as falls, falling objects, structural instability, electrocution and overloading.

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	Did You Know?
	There are individuals responsible for making sure that the construction site where I work is safe. The property owner and general contractor (and in some cases sub-contractors) are responsible for ensuring the safety of workers at a construction site. The extent of each party's responsibility will vary depending on your case.