Roof Falls and 2 Other Common Workplace Hazards

Have you ever wondered what the most common workplace hazards are?

Sadly, people suffer injuries every day at work. Some are minor and the person is able to carry on, however, sometimes they can have fatal consequences. In 2013, there were over 4,000 fatal injuries in the workplace.

Even with a huge emphasis on health and safety nowadays, hazards in the workplace are still an issue. Both the employer and employees have a duty to keep everyone safe, but often this doesn’t happen.

In this article, we’re going to share 3 common workplace hazards including roof falls.

Read on for more information.

1. Roof Falls

You may have seen footage of skyscrapers being built in New York City during the 1920s and ’30s. In the videos, you see the men working high up in the sky with no safety harnesses. Deaths during this time were extremely common but workers had no choice than to take the risk.

Sadly the construction industry still sees many deaths a year at the result of roof falls.

These can be due to falling off roof edges or openings, as well as falling through fragile roofs. The sad thing is a lot of these deaths could have been avoided if the proper safety equipment was used and adequate training been given.

2. Forklifts

Forklifts look fun to ride on but in reality, they can be very dangerous.

A lot of forklift injuries are a result of workers feeling pressured to work quickly. This may be in a warehouse where the worker is timed to see how many items they can pick in an hour.

If they feel rushed, they can start taking shortcuts and rushing. They may drive the forklifts into walls or items can fall off the forks. These can injure the operator and other workers who happen to be nearby.

3. Slips and Falls

People falling at work continues to be a major problem.

Slips and falls can happen for a variety of reasons including spillages and loose cables. When a liquid is spilled on the floor, it should be cleaned up immediately and a wet floor sign placed over it. However workers can often feel they don’t have the time to clean it up, or, they just ignore it.

When this happens, there’s a high chance a colleague will come along and suffer a fall. This can lead to costly claims and unnecessary suffering. 

Dropped objects can be a huge cause of injuries in construction. See how to prevent them at https://safetyfocus.assp.org/blog/3-ts-that-will-prevent-dropped-objects-in-construction/. 

Roof Falls and Other Common Workplace Hazards

We hope you have enjoyed reading this article and have learned about some of the most common workplace hazards.

As you can see roof falls, trips and forklifts are common causes of injuries in the workplace. Hopefully, with the right training and safety precautions, these injuries and deaths can be eradicated.

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