Occupational Injuries and Fatalities in the Roofing Contracting Industry
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 131, Issue 11
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to determine jobs/tasks associated with current injury, illness, and fatality trends in the roofing industry; and (2) to identify current safety practices associated with the prevention of these illnesses, injuries, and fatalities. In order to achieve the project objectives, a survey was designed and sent to Michigan roofing contractors. To design an adequate survey, the research team first collected background information using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online database, published research, and contractor interviews. Of the 48 roofing companies asked to participate, 24 completed the survey. The survey results indicated that hand and finger injuries due to cutting operations and back injuries due to the manual handling of heavy and bulky materials to be the most frequent roofing contracting task/injury combination. Falls from elevations as well as on the same level typically occurred when carrying heavy and bulky materials such as bundles of shingles on slippery and inclined walking/working surfaces. These findings from this study may assist safety professionals in the construction industry in making effective changes for improving safety and productivity.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program (Grant No. NSF9820310). Mike Wiersma and Marcia Charles are REU participants on this project. The continuing support of the NSFNSF is greatly appreciated. The writers would also like to thank all the roofing companies that participated in the survey and contributed to this study.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 131 • Issue 11 • November 2005
Pages: 1233 - 1240
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 1, 2002
Accepted: May 16, 2005
Published online: Nov 1, 2005
Published in print: Nov 2005
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