Electrical deaths in the US construction: an analysis of fatality investigations

Abstract

Electrocution is among the 'fatal four' in US construction according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Learning from failures is believed to be an effective path to success, with deaths being the most serious system failures. This paper examined the failures in electrical safety by analysing all electrical fatality investigations (N = 132) occurring between 1989 and 2010 from the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation programme that is completed by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Results reveal the features of the electrical fatalities in construction and disclose the most common electrical safety challenges on construction sites. This research also suggests the sociotechnical system breakdowns and the less effectiveness of current safety training programmes may significantly contribute to worker's unsafe behaviours and electrical fatality occurrences.

Preliminary Human Safety Assessment (PHSA) for the Improvement of the Behavioral Aspects of Safety Climate in the Construction Industry

“…The estimation of I O and I S was performed using the following criteria: I O was evaluated using a scale ranging from 1 = very unlikely to 5 = very likely; I S was estimated taking into account a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 corresponds to minor effects (e.g., injuries recoverable in 1 day), while 5 corresponds to catastrophic effects (e.g., death or permanent injuries). To include human error concerns, the risk level of each elementary activity was augmented considering the human error probability (P ERR ) obtained through Equation (1). In practice, the new risk index (I PHSA ) was obtained through the following equation:…”

“…The results of this analysis are reported in Table 3, where the number of the EPCs is referred to in the list in Appendix B. Accordingly, the human error probability index (I ERRi ) was calculated by means of Equation (1). The results of this assessment are summarized in Table 4, where the value of the nominal human unreliability value associated to the i-th activity (P 0i ) was considered equal to 0.03 for all activities (i.e., "miscellaneous task" as per Williams [56]).…”

“…The construction industry is considered a very risky sector [1], since the rate of accidents is constantly high at a global level [2]. Such a phenomenon also has a significant economic and social impact [3].…”

Stakeholder perceptions of risk in construction

“…Many scholars and practitioners (Toole and Gambatese, 2008; Zhao et al, 2012, 2014) have advocated PtD as a successful strategy in mitigating OSH hazards. PtD adopts approaches of “designing hazards out” at the early design/ planning stage to eliminate/reduce the workers’ exposure at the construction stage (Weinstein et al, 2005).…”

Integrating Safety Culture Into Osh Risk Mitigation: A Pilot Study on the Electrical Safety

“…The electrical occupations include electricians, electrical power installers and repairers, electrical apprentices and helpers, and their supervisors. Only 26% of victims in electrical deaths were electricians, while the rest were associated with other construction trades (Zhao et al 2014). Therefore, it seems that not only electrical occupations have been exposed to the electrical hazards, but also non-electrical workers who need increased attention on the electrical hazards and safety.…”