Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States, due in part to the presence of major work-related hazards such as falls – the leading cause of death among construction workers.

Despite ongoing efforts to improve awareness and use of fall protection and fall prevention solutions, 353 workers died from falls to a lower level in 2020 alone, and fall protection in construction remained the most frequently cited OSHA standard for violations across all industries for the ninth consecutive fiscal year.

To better understand why serious falls from heights continue to occur with such frequency despite being preventable, CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training – conducted a survey of persons who experienced, witnessed, or investigated a workplace fall incident.

The survey was developed and fielded with support from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Z359 National Work at Heights Task Force, the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Construction Sector Council Falls Workgroup, and other organizers of the National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction and the National Safety Stand-Down.

A new preliminary report of this survey provides key findings from the survey as follows:

– – Respondents believe that lack of adequate planning is a key underlying cause of falls. Insufficient or ineffective planning was the most selected primary cause for falls (27.4%).
– – Lack of planning is associated with a lower likelihood of using fall protection. The odds of using fall protection were 71% lower for individuals whose employer or competent person did not do any planning compared to those whose employer or competent person did do planning or they were not sure.
– – Nearly half (48.8%) of respondents said that no fall protection was being used at the time of the fall.
– – Employee beliefs about their company’s fall protection policy are strongly associated with the use of fall protection. Respondents who believed fall protection was required by their employer were 8 times more likely to use fall protection compared to those who did not believe fall protection was required.
– – Rescue training may help reduce fall-related deaths. The odds of a fall being fatal were 76% lower for those who had self-rescue training compared to those who did not have this training.
– – Workers employed by subcontractors face an elevated risk of dying from falls. Individuals who worked for a subcontractor at the time of the fall incident were 2.7 times more likely to die from the fall compared to those who worked for a general contractor.

In terms of the severity of the fall incident, respondents indicated that 26.9% of fall incidents they had been involved in, witnessed, or investigated were fatal Most (63.9%) said 911/ emergency services were required at the time of the fall incident, and 34.9% said they were not required. In addition, medical care was required in 79.1% of fall incidents.

Several factors were found to be significantly associated with whether a fall was fatal.The higher the height of the fall, the greater the likelihood the fall would be fatal. Individuals who fell from a height of 21-30 feet were 8 times more likely to die from the fall compared to those who fell from a height of less than 6 feet.

Almost half (48.8%) of respondents said that no fall protection was being used at the time of the fall. When fall protection was being used, 31.3% used a personal fall arrest system (PFAS) and 16.1% used guardrails.

The most common consequences an employer experienced because of the fall incident were no consequences (31.7%), an OSHA citation/penalty (25.5%), and higher insurance premiums (19.5%).