Introduction
Welcome to Focus Four - Fall Hazards for the construction industry. This is the first course covering the hazards described in our Construction Focus Four Hazards series. Please be sure to complete the series by also taking courses 807, 808, and 809. The Focus Four Hazards series was developed in support of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Construction Outreach Program's effort to help educate workers in the construction industry about:
- understanding the hazards they face; and
- knowing what their employer's responsibilities are to protect workers from workplace hazards.
Construction is among the most dangerous industries in the country and construction inspections comprise 60% of OSHA's total inspections. In 2013, preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicate that there were 796 fatal on-the-job injuries to construction workers - more than in any other single industry sector and nearly one out of every five work-related deaths in the U.S. that year. Also in 2013, private industry construction workers had a fatal occupational injury rate nearly three times that of all workers in the United States: 9.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent construction workers vs. 3.2 for all workers.
Given current OSHA and industry information regarding construction worksite illnesses, injuries and/or fatalities, students who complete this series of courses will be able to recognize fall hazards, caught-in or -between hazards, struck-by hazards, and electrocution hazards (focus four hazards) employees face in the construction industry.
Course Objectives
| ID | Objective |
|---|---|
| TO 1.0 | Achieve a minimum score of 70% on the final course assessment. |
| LO 1.1.1 | Define construction "fall hazards," give examples, and describe statistics associated with falls. |
| LO 1.1.2 | Describe fall hazards and preventive measures associated with scaffolds, ladders, edges, and openings. |
| LO 1.2.1 | Describe the strategies in the construction hierarchy of controls model. |
| LO 1.2.2 | Describe preventive safety measures associated with the use of ladders and scaffolds. |
| LO 1.2.3 | Describe employer responsibilities for construction fall protection training and retraining. |
Key: Terminal Objective (TO), Learning Objective (LO)