Stairway accidents are a major cause of injuries in construction, with over two million emergency room patients in the US and 300 deaths in Canada each year. Proper training and maintenance can prevent accidents, including falls, collisions with power lines, and tripping. Employers should adopt safety policies to reduce accidents and fatalities.
Knowledge of stair safety measures has become more important with the increase in the number of injuries from accidents with stairs in construction. In the United States, over a 16-year period ending in 2005, a study found that more than two million emergency room patients were present due to injuries sustained in stairway accidents. In Canada, 300 people die each year in similar stairway accidents, while approximately 100,000 people are injured badly enough to need medical attention. Due to the number of injuries related to stairway accidents, safety experts believe that both employers and employees would benefit from increased awareness of stairway safety, including proper placement, use and maintenance steps.
According to OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, approximately 66 percent of injuries are caused by workers who have not been provided with proper ladder safety training. Training includes the most appropriate ways to position and use the ladder and related equipment, as well as specific maintenance steps such as how to inspect the equipment to ensure it is in good working order. OSHA Ladder Safety also sets the standards for the proper way to safely brace a ladder. There are also safety standards that indicate the distance between the rungs of a ladder and the distance between the upright sides. OSHA also recommends specific rung shapes and even types of rung liners to prevent workers from slipping.
Regardless of how accidents happen on the ladder, the end result is often permanent injury. A lack of knowledge of ladder safety has often resulted in falls with most injuries occurring to the lower extremities. Experts say safety measures are also important for a person working on the ground under a ladder because injuries have occurred from falling objects.
In movies it may seem funny when someone is caught off guard and knocked off a ladder being carried by a colleague, but in real life this type of accident can have serious medical consequences. Other types of accidents that can be prevented by stair safety training are collisions with overhead power lines and tripping on inappropriately placed ladders. The association recommends that employers adopt stair safety policies that include proper use, maintenance and removal. Such policies would go a long way towards reducing stairway accidents and fatalities, safety experts say.
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