JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Death from falls remains the leading cause of death in construction, affecting more than 3,500 workers over the last 10 years, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
It's a danger that also impacts the Air Force, which had more than 7,600 injuries and three fatalities from falls during a five-year period from fiscal years 2010-2014. Those injuries resulted in 44,000 lost work days at a cost of more than $30 million.
To help prevent fall-related injury and death, Air Force Ground Safety sponsors Fall Protection Focus Weeks, a partnership with OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's National Safety Stand-Down campaign. This year's Fall Protection Focus Weeks starts Monday and continues through May 15.
"Fall protection or prevention is not only for activities related to heights that are encountered every day on the job, but also includes, for example, falls that can happen because of wet floors or obstacles on a walkway," Bill Parsons, Air Force Ground Safety chief, said. "We want everyone to remember preventable falls are inexcusable and we must continue to do all we can to protect ourselves and each other."
Staff Sgt. Dominick Fugazzi, 502nd Air Base Wing safety technician at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, said active-duty members and civilian employees can experience falls no matter where they work, but workers on the flightlines, civil engineer squadron members, communications squadron members and first responders - anyone who uses ladders or works on an elevated platform - are especially at risk.
"Falls are preventable," he said. "However, we must carefully plan and prepare the necessary steps to protect our personnel, specifically those who are exposed to hazards dealing with heights and to enable them to have an accident-free workplace."
Using fall protection equipment - required at four feet or higher for general industry and six feet or higher for construction - is imperative for workers, but they must also be safety-conscious at all times, Fugazzi said.
"Do your job in a sensible time frame, but always have a safety mindset," he said.
Fugazzi said it's also important for workers to communicate with one another, watch out for each other and guard against complacency.
To observe Fall Protection Focus Weeks, the safety office plans to visit the workplaces of those who already have an established fall protection program and help provide any updates, if necessary, to ensure compliance, Fugazzi said.
"We will also ask unit safety representatives, who are the safety focal point for the unit commanders, to do in-house fall protection briefings," he said.
Fugazzi also said the safety office conducts spot inspections and presents periodic safety briefings throughout the year.
Dr. John Howard, NIOSH director, emphasized the importance of the stand-down campaign and the Air Force's Fall Protection Focus Weeks, which draw attention to the dangers associated with falls from heights and how falls can be prevented.
"No child should lose a parent, no wife should lose a husband and no workers should lose their lives in a preventable fall," he said. "The standdown serves as an important opportunity for worksites to recognize the hazards that cause them, and to train employees and workers how to avoid them so that these senseless tragedies can be prevented once and for all."