Accident prevention continues to play a major role in construction safety work, alongside health and well-being at work. In order to effectively prevent accidents, it is necessary to know their mechanisms and consequences. The Construction Industry has systematically monitored changes in accidents in its member companies since 2009.
The frequency of accidents in construction has steadily decreased over the past few years. For example, in 2005, the accident frequency figure describing the frequency of accidents was more than 80 in the entire industry, and in 2022 the corresponding figure was around 60. The accident frequency indicates the number of accidents per million working hours.
The accident frequency of RT member companies is clearly better than the industry average, at the end of 2022 it was around 17 (lost-time injuries, LTI 1). The accident frequencies of the best leading companies have stabilized at less than 10.
Positive development is the sum of many factors:
- Safety is managed more purposefully and systematically than before
- Protective equipment has developed and their use has increased
- There has also been a change in the atmosphere: to promote occupational safety and the employees also value it
- Safety regulations in the industry have tightened
The Zero accidents 2010 project was launched in the construction industry in 2020, with the aim of reducing work accidents to a minimum. Although the project has already ended, the work towards a safer and healthier construction industry continues. Several companies and construction sites have already demonstrated in practice that accident-free operation is possible.
TTL's study: The development of occupational safety in the construction industry ( pdf)
Zero accidents
+In 2010, the construction industry launched the ten-year program "Zero accidents in the construction industry 2020".
The goal was to eradicate occupational accidents to a minimum on construction sites and factories. We succeeded in halving the accident frequency of member companies and reducing the seriousness of accidents significantly. On behalf of Rakennusteollisuus RT, the Institute of Occupational Health made a report on the results of the decade-long program.
Zero accidents is a tough but possible goal
Accident-free operation requires cooperation between the different parts of the chain, starting from construction and planning. The zero-accident mindset must extend from company management to all employees of every subcontractor.
The minimum level is not enough
In terms of improving occupational safety in the construction industry, it is important that all actors have as uniform goals, practices and mutually comparable metrics as possible.
Occupational safety activities and their level should not differ greatly from one another in different companies. Simply meeting the minimum level of regulations is not enough.
Project message
- Occupational safety starts with the management's actions
- Zero accidents are possible
- All accidents and dangerous situations must be investigated
- Occupational safety is part of the company's public image
- Ability to work must be maintained throughout the working career
The severity of accidents is getting better
+Serious accidents, finger and eye injuries and falls have decreased the most in the construction industry. The number of fatal accidents has also been decreasing in the long term. While in the 1990s an average of 10 people died in construction accidents per year, in the 2000s the number in question is on average less than half of that.
Although the accident frequency does not indicate the severity of the accidents, it can be used to predict the probability of the most serious accidents. For every one serious accident, hundreds of accidents and minor damages occur. By systematically identifying danger and harm factors, clarifying near-misses and dangerous situations, and by addressing even minor safety deficiencies and deviations, we eliminate and reduce the risks of accidents and accidents one step at a time.
Typical injuries in construction statistics
+Hands are at greatest risk in the construction industry. Almost half of work accidents occur in the area of the fingers, hands and wrists. Fingers are particularly vulnerable to damage in the construction industry: almost a third of all work accidents involve fingers.
Half of the injuries are caused by a sharp object, tripping or falling. Falls and falls, as well as being hit by a cutting or sharp object, both accounted for about a quarter of all workplace accidents in the construction industry last year. Most often, falls occur from relatively low places such as ladders or scaffolding, but falls from high places still happen. The most typical fall causes a lower limb injury (35%), multiple body parts are injured in 15% of cases.
of TVK publication
https://www.tvk.fi/uutiset-ja-blogit/uutiset/2023/tyopaikkatapaturmien-lukumaara-laski-mutta-tapaturmataajuus-nousi-rakennusalalla-vuonna-2022/
A lot of accidents happen to young people
+According to statistics from the Accident Insurance Agency (TVK), the most accidents happen to house builders and carpenters. We are particularly prone to accidents when moving from one place to another. Falls, slips and falls are also typical for more experienced workers. Young people suffer more injuries than average, especially finger and eye injuries. Almost a fifth of the accidents among 20-24-year-olds in the field are eye injuries.
Serious accidents have decreased and many things have moved forward in the safety of the construction industry since the 90s. This is also what the report made by the Institute of Occupational Health in 2019 says.