Although work related deaths in America are down on average, falls remain a major problem area—especially for the construction industry.

According to OSHA, falls were responsible for 381 out of 971 total deaths in construction in 2017 (39.2%). That’s almost half of all fatal construction workplace accidents. In fact, fall protection in construction was the most frequently cited standard by OSHA in fiscal year 2018.

Why? One major factor is that workers are not getting routine training on OSHA requirements for fall protection.

Your workers may have their job tasks down, but when operations run smoothly and they’re in their “work zone”, sometimes they forget about safety details that can throw your accident free count back to zero.

One And NOT Done – Fighting The Forgetting Curve

Ever sit in on an informational seminar that seemed to last “Forever….” Pretty soon, all you hear is a voice droning on and on about…what?  You don’t know because they lost you after 10 min.  Info overload!

70% Information Lost Within First 24 Hours
Herman Ebbinghaus was a German psychologist who studied memory and discovered the “forgetting curve” and “spaced repetition” effect in the 1880’s.

The “forgetting curve” studies showed that the brain’s ability to retain information decreases over time. 70% of information is lost within the first 24 hours and 80-90% can be lost per month.

But with spaced repetition, it increases the rate of learning and the ability to retain information long-term.

How Does Knowledge Loss Affect Safety?
Over time, your workers will forget the hour and a half lecture on safety and all the details needed to operate safely day-to-day – eventually resulting in poor decisions and mistakes.  Unfortunately, the outcome is inevitably a higher rate of accidents, damages, and liabilities to the company and supervisors.

“Spaced Repetition” – Just Another Word For “Routine Training”
Safety and rescue training for falls is not a “cram it all in an hour” and “one and done” deal. Workers need scheduled training and repetition in order to retain and recall information – especially during emergency situations.

With Greater Power, Comes Greater Responsibility

OSHA standard 1926.501(a)(1), covers the employer’s duty to provide fall protection systems along with a safe work environment.

It’s the employer’s responsibility to ensure that work conditions are safe.

Construction workers performing on working surfaces 6′ above ground, on low-sloped or steep roofs, or with unprotected sides are required to have one or more of the following protective equipment:

• Guardrail Systems
• Handrail Systems
• Safety Netting
• Personal Fall Arrest Systems
• On-The-Go Fall Arrest Systems

W.W. Cannon Is Your Safety & Training Partner

Routine Hands-On Safety Training For Hands-On Workers Reduces Risk
Your workers need a training system with proven effectiveness, from a teaching aspect that makes sense to them, in easy-to-digest segments, with hands-on demonstrations, encouraged participation and questions, as well as weekly work reminders, safety signs and monitors, and anticipated scheduled retraining sessions.

W.W. Cannon’s Fall Safety & Rescue Training is customized to your real work application, providing an on-site, hands-on experience for your workers, and delivered on a routine basis (schedule customized to your application) for increased memory retention.

Our approach to an effective safe construction work environment follows this simple yet comprehensive approach: Evaluate – Equip – Train – Maintain – Repeat

• Safety walk-through inspections and evaluation
• Documented health of the equipment
• Documented company safety and rescue plan
• Proper safety equipment and high-visual signs
• Hands-on safety training and routine safety checks
• Safety videos, training materials, and “just a call away” consultation
• Preventive maintenance for storage and material handling equipment

When properly applied and adhered to, our safety system reduces the error rate of operation, property loss rate, and light to fatal injuries.  The potential for workplace accidents is drastically reduced.

Next Steps

We know that if employers and workers in the construction industry have the right equipment for their application and are properly trained, consistently adhering to OSHA requirements for fall protection, hundreds of lives could be saved each year.

At W.W. Cannon, we take the protection of your workers seriously.  For more information about our company or services, please give us a call at 800-442-3061.