It is difficult to imagine anyone being surprised to learn that the construction industry is a dangerous one. However, in many cases the stats themselves can be startling. Keep reading to get the facts about danger within the industry. Learn how Fund Control can help lenders, equity investors, and others with one aspect of the construction industry.

The Facts of the Matter

According to the most recent report from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational Injuries, coupled with data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, people within the construction industry suffered almost 200,000 injuries in 2018 and more than 1,000 fatal injuries in the same year.

As was true of the year before, the construction industry had more fatal accidents than all other industries with a total of 1,008. This is unfortunately an increase of 2% compared to the 971 fatal injuries in 2017. To put those numbers in perspective, consider that the construction industry makes up nearly 20% of all private industry worker deaths in 2018.

While the number of fatal accidents rose, the rate for the construction industry was 9.5 which was the same as the previous year. For all workers in the country, the fatal injury rate is 3.5. This number is calculated by looking at the number of fatal job injuries per 100,000 full-time workers.

Also of note is the fact that the construction industry had just the fourth-highest fatality rate – forestry, fishing, hunting, and agriculture had a tarrying 23.4 FTE, mining, oil and gas extraction, and quarrying came in at 14.1, and transportation and warehousing was close behind at 14.00.

The Most Common Causes of Construction Worker Death

There are four leading causes of death for construction workers: Falls, being struck by objects, getting electrocuted, and being caught between or in objects. These four types of accidents make up more than 58% of all construction deaths in 2018.

You Can Be Part of the Solution

No matter what type of construction organization you are involved in, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the number of these accidents. If you are working from the funding aspect, you can carefully consider safety requests. You can insist that any contractor you work with uses the latest safety protocols. If you are a disbursement company then you can write-in safety requirements to be met before you disburse money.

Lowering the number of workers’ deaths is more than the humane thing to do – it is also the financially astute thing to do. Workers’ deaths cost money and they are almost always avoidable. At Fund Control we work hard to help companies in these industries get the best outcomes they can for their time and investments.