Government agencies, such as OSHA in the US and HSE in the UK, are responsible for creating and enforcing health and safety regulations in the construction industry. Prior to their establishment, state governments and employers addressed safety issues with little success. Construction work is inherently dangerous, with unique risks such as falls and puncture wounds. OSHA has issued thousands of regulations to protect workers, but controversy remains over their adequacy and cost of compliance.
The creation of health and safety regulations in the construction industry is usually under the jurisdiction of a government agency. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created nationwide in 1970 to address such issues in both the public and private sectors, and currently publishes and reviews regulations covering all public work and most private individuals. In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is similarly responsible for monitoring health and safety issues and disseminating these regulations in England, Scotland and Wales, while Northern Ireland’s HSE is responsible for occupational health and safety issues in that country. Many other nations have their own similar agencies.
While workplace safety is a matter of great importance to workers around the world, the construction sector is of particular concern due to the inherently dangerous nature of many of the jobs involved. Prior to the 20th century, thousands of workers around the world were routinely killed or seriously injured in occupational accidents, particularly in construction. In the early 20th century, accidents and fatalities in the industry remained among the highest of all occupations.
Prior to the establishment of OSHA in 1970, safety issues in the US construction industry were addressed by state governments through their departments of labor, professional associations, and employers themselves. However, regulatory efforts by states have often failed because enforcement was a low priority. The lack of meaningful and uniform national standards related to health and safety in this and other industries was a major reason for the creation of OSHA.
Common physical hazards in the construction industry include falling from high places, being hit by falling objects, puncture wounds from nails and screws, slipping and falling on uneven surfaces, and eye injuries from flying objects. Workers can be electrocuted, some have been poisoned when excavation work has perforated gas pipes, and some have contracted cancer from handling carcinogens such as asbestos. Some of these risks are shared with other sectors, but many are unique to construction. As part of its mandate to protect the health and safety of construction workers, OSHA has issued regulations that address each of these hazards and thousands of others.
Throughout its history, OSHA has been controversial. Workers and their unions have often complained about the inadequacy of regulations and the fact that fines levied for non-compliance are viewed by their industries as simply a cost of doing business. Employers, for their part, have complained that complying with many of the regulations is excessively expensive and that the agency focuses more on punishing non-compliance than on making workplaces safer.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
