Falls cause the largest number of fatalities—about 28
percent—in the construction industry per year. There always
are a number of factors involved with falls, including unstable
work surfaces and human error. Roofing workers have the
fifth-highest work-related death rate in construction with an
average of 30 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. This
is about twice the average for all other construction trades.
Studies have shown the use of guardrails, fall-arrest systems
and other fall-protection systems can prevent deaths and injuries,
but many roofing contractors and workers still are misinformed
about falls. Following are several myths and facts about falls. All
statistics are according to data from the Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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