What Human Factors Affect Construction Safety?

Safety on a construction site is of the utmost importance, especially if you’re working with cranes, scaffolding, heavy equipment, or other dangerous tools. In some cases, construction accidents occur because of equipment failures, natural disasters, mechanical problems, and other issues that are, by and large, out of the construction crew’s hands.

However, in most cases, it’s a human error that jeopardizes the safety of a construction site. In fact, the National Safety Council says that human error is to blame for up to 90% of serious workplace accidents.

Human factors that affect construction safety may include:

• Safety code violations: Workers, managers, and site owners may knowingly choose to go against code or skip corners to get a job done more quickly and affordably. Although we like to think this happens rarely, it may be more common than you think.
• Miscalculations: Technology has helped us significantly with this issue, but human miscalculations still lead to several damaging incidents each year. For example, miscalculations may lead to incorrect structure dimensions, inadequate weight distribution, and so on.
• Poor or inadequate training: Workers without proper training can injure themselves and others, especially if they operate heavy or complex machinery. Managers and workers are responsible for ensuring they always work within their skill set.
• Oversights/ lapse in judgment: Simple oversights and lapses in judgment can lead to catastrophic errors, however harmless they may be. For example, a worker may accidentally release the load in a forklift too soon, injuring workers below.

Sometimes human mistakes are just that—simple mistakes. But, if those mistakes resulted in serious harm or injury, the liable party could be responsible for the resulting damage.

Construction site owners and managers are responsible for the safety of their workers, and if they cut corners or otherwise fail to maintain a safe work environment, they could be liable for the injuries and damages that occur as a result. If you were harmed on a construction site due to someone else’s negligence or mistake, be it a human error or otherwise, our firm is here to help.

Contact BD&J today to schedule a free consultation