A viewpoint commentary by a safety vice president and corporate safety manager shows why new ideas on safety can be hard to enact in construction.

A broken leg, an immigration arrest and a $650K jury award against a contractor related to safety violations.

Unidentified employee sustained fatal injuries while removing large piping at the San Jose plant construction site on June 14.

Two firms face proposed penalties totaling $57K related to worker death when a 70-ft-long bridge section suddenly collapsed on Oct. 19.

After two serious safety incidents in consecutive days, Boston area’s largest contractor voluntarily issued a safety stand down on projects ending May 6. 

Total recordable injury rates have no connection to fatalities, according to a recent study of the statistic—and the death of laborer Mason Mack Harris may be a tragic example.

Despite overall trend, the number of deaths increased by one, to 9 in 2021, and all construction-related injuries rose by three, to 505.

Despite many upgrades with new technology for loaders,  excavators and cranes, manufacturers are still busy trying to solve a persistent safety problem: striking workers or pedestrians while moving in reverse.