Work Zone Safety

Struck-by incidents are a leading cause of death among construction workers,^[1]  and since 1992 the leading cause of nonfatal injuries in the construction industry.^[2] According to OSHA, the four most common struck-by hazards are being struck-by a flying, falling, swinging, or rolling object. The NORA Construction Sector Council is undertaking a number of initiatives to increase awareness of struck-by hazards and ways to prevent them, including developing this online resource and launching a National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents.  

On April 20th, during Work Zone Awareness Week, the NORA Construction Sector Council held the first (virtual) National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents, which included a live Q&A Panel, now available to view on-demand:

Virtual National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents - Q&A Panel
Introduction by: G. Scott Earnest, Acting Director for the Office of Construction Safety and Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Panel Moderator: Brad Sant, Sr. Vice President, ARTBA
Panelists:
David Fosbroke, Statistician, NIOSH Division of Safety Research
Travis Parsons, Associate Director of Occupational Safety & Health, Laborers’ Health & Safety Fund of North America
Jerral Wyer, (retired), Director of Occupational Safety and Health, Texas Department of Transportation
David Dostaler, Vice President of Safety, Kraemer North America, LLC
Play Recording             Download Presentation
 

While the Stand-Down is over, we encourage you to use creative ways to focus on preventing struck-by incidents year-round. Click here to download ideas for holding Stand-Down activities. Check CPWR's guidance document and other resources on COVID-19 for the construction industry for information on staying safe during training and other activities.

The following are additional materials developed by the NORA Construction Sector Council to use in support of this initiative:

• Stand-Down promotional flyer (JPEG,PDF)
• Toolbox Talks:
  • Work Zone Safety: Vehicle Operators (English, Spanish)
  • Work Zone Safety: Working Around Vehicles (English, Spanish)
• Infographics:
  • STAY ALERT IN WORK ZONES!
  • OPERATORS! 4 Steps for Work Zone Safety
  • CONTRACTORS! Work Zone Safety Starts with Your Internal Traffic Control Plan

Resources to Prevent Struck-by Incidents and Fatalities in Construction Work Zones

Training Materials

NIOSH Resources:

• WorkPlace Solutions: Preventing Worker Injuries and Deaths from Backing Construction Vehicles and Equipment
• Construction Equipment Visibility (aka, blind area diagrams) web page 

NIOSH FACE Reports:

• Foreman of a Highway Line Painting Crew Killed When a Car Enters the Work Zone – Massachusetts 
• FACE Report: Crane Operator Killed By Falling Steel Beam
• FACE Report : Municipal Foreman Killed When Struck by a Backhoe Loader Outrigger While in an Excavation
• FACE Report: Foreman and Laborer Fall when Aerial Lift Struck by Vehicle
• FACE Report: Construction Flagger Struck and Killed in Two-Lane Highway Work Zone
• FACE Report - A Tree Feller Dies When Struck By a Tree Limb While Felling a Fire-Damaged Tree
• OSHA's Compliance Directive for Highway Construction Work Zones
• FACE Report Fatality Narrative: Brush Cutter Operator Struck by Section of Pipe

ARTBA Resources:

• ARTBA Safety Center
• ARTBA/NIOSH FACE Animated Struck-by Videos:
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Police Officer Run Over by a Dump Truck
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Engineering Technician Run Over and Killed by Backing Dump Truck
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Worker Dies After Being Run Over by a Caterpiller 
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Asphalt Roller Crushes Flagman
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Flagger Fatally Injured When Struck by a Car at a Highway Work Zone in Washington State
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Three Construction Workers Killed After Being Struck by a Bus in a Highway Work Zone
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Inspector Run Over by an Asphalt Truck
  • Avoiding Fatalities: Hispanic Laborer on Roadway construction Work Site Run Over and Killed by a Backing Flat Bed Dump Truck — North Carolina
• ARTBA: Avoiding Blind Spots training video and “Know the Blind Spots” poster
  • Module 1- Preventing Runovers and Backovers
  • Module 2- Protecting Workers on Foot
  • Module 3- Access and Egress
  • Module 4- Productivity
  • Module 5- Roles and Responsibilities
  • Module 6- Developing an Internal Traffic Control Plan
  • Module 7- Technology Solutions
  • Instructor Guide- Internal Traffic Control Planning
  • Student Workbook- Avoiding Runovers/Backovers in Work Zones
  • Field Guide 2- Avoiding Runovers/Backovers
• ARTBA Preventing Run overs/back overs Videos
  • Blind Spots- Equipment
  • Blind Spots- Dump Trucks
  • Blind Spots- Technology
    
    • Standard Spotting Signals Poster (Backing Signal Chart)

Work Zone Safety Consortium: Guidance on Developing Internal Traffic Control Plans

OSHA Resources:

• Highway Work Zones and Signs, Signals, and Barricades
• Construction eTool – Struck-By
• FOCUS 4 – ‘Struck-By’ Hazards
• Construction  Focus Four: Struck‐By  Hazards INSTRUCTOR GUIDE
• The Struck-By Hazard – Certified Safety Construction Worker (presentation)
• Quick Card: Top Four Construction Hazards
• OSHA and Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners Alliance brochure -  High Visibility Clothing For Heavy & Highway Construction

CPWR Other Resources:

• Equipment Falling Objects (English and Spanish)
• Traffic Safety (English and Spanish)
• Preventing Head Injuries

Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America Resources:

• Work Zone Information and Materials
• Roadway Safety: Struck or Crushed
• Roadway Safety: Run Overs & Back Overs

IUOE Focus Four Toolbox Talks:

• Work safely around heavy equipment
• Struck by falling objects
• Power Tools
• Work Zones
• Rigging and Securing Loads
• Disaster Sites

Washington Safety and Health Training Institute: Keeping Cement Masons Safe: Preventing Falls, Struck and Caught Between Accidents

Construction Safety Council: FOCUS 4 Hazards (summaries of what workers need to know)

Washington State Department of Labor:

• Fatal Facts: Construction Worker Struck and Killed by Car
• Fatality Narrative: Worker Struck by Vehicle When Exiting Trench in Roadway

Research

• CPWR -- Embedded safety communication system for robust hazard perception of individuals in worker zones truck-by Injuries and Prevention in the Construction Industry (2019)
• CPWR Quarterly Data Report -- Fatal Injuries at Road Construction Sites among Construction Workers  (2018)
• CPWR Quarterly Data Report – Struck-by Injuries and Prevention in the Construction Industry (2017)
• Irrsst -- Detection and reaction thresholds for reverse alarms in noise with and without passive hearing protection (2017):
  • Backup Alarms – For Optimum Safety (video)
  • Examples of wearable proximity sensors on the market: Smartzone Proximity System and Cat^® Detect
• NIOSH – Preventing Worker Deaths When Struck By Construction Equipment (2004)
• CPWR - Safety Hazards to Workers in Modular Home Construction (2003)
• NIOSH – CDC Report Suggests Ways to Prevent Injuries, Fatalities to Workers in Highway Work Zones (2001)