June 25, 2009

State construction deaths drop significantly

Photo courtesy of BNBuilders [enlarge]

BNBuilders requires its workers to perform morning stretches as part of its safety program.

THE NUMBER OF construction fatalities in the state is down dramatically this year, according to the Associated General Contractors of Washington, whose findings are based on data from the state Department of Labor & Industries.

Last year, there were 18 fatalities. From 1998 through last year, the annual average number of fatalities was 16. This year, through almost the first six months, there have been two construction-related deaths.

The recession is likely part of the reason for the reduction, though local AGC officials think there's more to the story. They note that year-over-year construction employment in Washington was down 14 percent in April, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet the construction fatality numbers are on pace for a 78 percent reduction in 2009.

It's unclear whether a similar decrease is occurring in other states. The most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is for 2007. Anecdotal evidence, however, indicates that the drop in deaths may be unique to Washington.

AGC of Washington safety director Mandi Kime said that at an AGC safety forum held earlier this month, members working outside of Washington reported that other states are not having a similar dip. About 50 safety directors attended the forum, according to Kime, who said that their firms are working in the West with most on Northwest jobs.

Summertime spike

Elaine Fisher, spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor & Industries, worries that the numbers for the first six months of 2009 could lead to complacency. She says it's important to remember that the number of on-the-job injuries and fatalities spike in the summer.

“July and August are the highest months year after year for fatalities for all industries,” she said. “That would correspond for construction.”

Another factor to keep in mind is the amount of road construction work that will be done this year due to the federal stimulus package. According to the state Department of Transportation, $492 million has been allocated to state and local highway projects.

A key factor for summertime safety is the number of young people who come onto job sites. They are not as experienced as full-time workers and may not have had safety training, according to Fisher. To raise awareness among student employees, the state has instituted a program where young people who have been injured on the job speak at schools before classes are dismissed for the summer. This year, two young workers who had near-fatal mishaps spoke in front of about 2,000 students at 20 schools.

“It's a hard-hitting program. It makes an impression on them,” Fisher said.

David D'Hondt, executive vice president at the AGC of Washington, said he thinks the decline in fatalities can be attributed to both the downturn in construction employment and safety campaigns.

Pete Campbell, corporate safety director for Seattle-based BNBuilders, agrees; he said more and more contractors see the value of safety programs and are working harder at managing risk.

Washington state safety standards are more stringent than federal ones, according to Campbell. Plus contractors can take advantage of a voluntary program, the AGC Safety Team. Currently, a record 238 firms have qualified for membership, according to the AGC. These firms have passed job site safety audits and ensure safety plans are implemented.

BNBuilders, which has been in the program for five years, has seen the results. In March, the AGC of America named the firm one of the safest construction companies in the country. In 2008, the firm won the AGC of Washington's overall safety award. In addition, the 200-employee BNBuilders won the 2009 state AGC safety award for companies in its size classification.

Campbell said his company's crews begin each work day with a planning meeting that includes a safety briefing. Each time a new worker or subcontractor comes on board, they must go through an orientation about BNBuilders' safety standards, which are tougher than state requirements. Workers are drug tested, and every day during the morning stretching program supervisors evaluate whether workers are fit for duty. In addition, the company investigates not only all accidents but near-misses as well in an effort to keep them from happening again.

BNBuilders hosts safety lunches, actively takes safety suggestions from employees and rewards those who are active in promoting safety. Those who report near-misses, for instance, typically get gift cards.

“Usually they're Home Depot cards,” Campbell said. “It's kind of fitting for us.”

Fall prevention

These programs are one reason that BNBuilders is recognized as a safety leader. The company also works with architects to design permanent safety features, such as fall protection devices, into projects. BNBuilders worked on several Seattle library projects with these features that kept crews safe during construction and continue keeping maintenance workers safe today.

“We have to put it up anyway for our workers, so we might as well leave it up permanently,” Campbell said, adding the costs are minimal.

Falls from heights are the No. 1 cause of workers being hospitalized with severe injuries, according to Labor & Industries' Fisher, who said residential construction workers are more prone to this type of accident than commercial construction workers. Residential job sites are more numerous and scattered than commercial projects, so they're harder to monitor.

The state has cut many programs due to the recession. The safety program, however, is not part of the general fund and will not be cut, though due to a hiring freeze the department does have some open posts that will not be filled anytime soon, Fisher said. The state does 7,000 safety inspections every year, with about half of those occurring at construction sites.

Other safety programs that Fisher and D'Hondt credit to the drop in fatalities are the state's construction safety day and an ad campaign that is a partnership of Labor & Industries, AGC and business and labor groups. The ads in Western Washington emphasize the importance of job safety to family and friends outside of the workplace.

The centerpiece ad shows people coming home from work to family. Their arrivals are juxtaposed against a boy worried that his dad isn't home from work.

The AGC's Kime said it's important for workers and supervisors not to be complacent about safety during an economic downturn. In addition to the fact that one accident can extract all profit from a job, there are the moral and ethical issues, she said.

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• TOD awaits the green light in Southeast Seattle, 05-14-2009
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