What Are The Main Causes of Injury for Construction Workers? 

Mar 4 2023

What Are The Main Causes of Injury for Construction Workers? 

By nature of the activities involved on a construction site, construction workers are one of the highest risk groups of workers for injury, illness, or fatality due to their workplace environment.

However, it is not only the physical elements that can play a part in these statistics but also the mental strain and emotional factors involved in working on a busy construction site.

Creating a safe working environment for construction workers is much more complex than just providing PPE or workwear for operatives to undertake the tasks at hand.

For operatives who are provided with workwear and PPE that are both safe and have been chosen to provide the best safety features possible, as opposed to a price-driven or tick boxing exercise, then these members of staff will feel adequately cared for on a personal level also.

So, what are the main causes of injury for Construction Workers? Let’s take a look:

Mental Health, Stress & Exhaustion

Mental health and stress-induced illness is the leading cause of workplace absence within a construction environment. Even more so, suicide within the construction industry represents the UK’s highest occupational risk group at almost four times the norm.

Adequately assisting your operatives to feel safe in their place of work is a great way to start changing this.

Construction workers often face exhaustingly long hours, work away from home, and work within a pressurized, deadline-orientated environment.

Whilst Stop’N’Go can’t assist with all of these pressures, our products can form part of a larger solution to the problems.

Operatives who feel that their employers are committed to their safety and well-being are less likely to feel underappreciated within their roles. Providing high-quality PPE for your operatives is a good starting point for this.

There are lots of resources available for employers to engage with their operatives to remove the stigma of mental health issues within the workplace. Mates in Mind is a great resource for this, and information can be found here > Mates in Mind

Materials Handling

Manual materials handling are tasks that involve lifting, holding, carrying, lowering, pushing, and pulling materials and material loads.

While there are a variety of injury types associated with materials handling (bruises, punctures, broken bones), the most common is soft tissue damage, i.e. damage to muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs, cartilage, and/or nerves.

Materials handling injuries to the hands can result in a variety of injuries, varying from the immediate to those that develop and worsen over time.

The full extent of hand injuries due to materials handling injuries can result in mild discomfort, to permanent disability.

That’s why the Stop’N’Go range of gloves are designed to provide protection against the various cut, abrasion, and puncture risks present throughout the construction industry and are all certified under the BSI EN388:2016+A1:2018 - Protective gloves against mechanical risks standard.

You can read all about this here.

Moving Vehicles and Objects

Constructions sites are typically a buzz of activity and as such, injury and fatality as a result of a moving vehicle or object, is one of the highest risk factors within the construction industry. 

There are several reasons that a worker might be hit by a moving vehicle or object on site. These include:

  • Untidy and cluttered work areas that hinder safe manoeuvring.
  • Lack of clear communication practices for moving vehicles
  • Poorly lit work areas
  • Working close to moving vehicles or objects
  • The lack of warning signs at movement intersections

 

The Stop’N’Go range of gloves was designed to make communication as clear as possible for operatives, particularly in relation to reversing vehicles on site.

From user trials, our studies have found that 89% of all users reported better visibility of the hand signals being given to drivers when manoeuvring a vehicle on site.

If you are responsible for the safety of operatives on your construction site and you are interested in finding out more about the Stop’N’Go range, then we would love to hear from you. 

If you want to set up a trial then give us a shout on 01443 743398 or email us at enquiries@stop-n-go.co.uk.  Alternatively, you could fill out our Sample Request Form and we’ll get in touch to get your trial underway.