Give Jacks, Lifts, And Hoists The High Safety Priority They Deserve Stats and Facts

FACTS

  1. The hazards associated with the use of hoisting equipment in construction or other maritime operations are:
  • Workers may be crushed by moving objects when vehicles or equipment aren’t properly secured
  • Hoists may tip and fall when fixation bases aren’t properly secured, or because of strong winds or imbalanced loads
  • Personnel may fall from hoisting platforms or be struck when the hoisting platform moves
  • Workers may experience musculoskeletal damage related to force exertions, poor ergonomic postures, and/or repetitive work hazards

STATS

JACKS

  • 4,822 people in the U.S. receive hospital emergency treatment in a single year for jack failure injuries.
  • 82% of those injured in jack collapses were between 15 and 45 years of age. Only 2% were below the age of 15.
  • 39% of the most severe injuries were to the hand, finger, or wrist. Another 17% of the most severe wounds were sustained on the upper trunk of the body, with another 15% to the head, neck, or face.

LIFTS

  • Incidents involving lifts kill about 30 and seriously injure about 17,000 people each year, according to B.L.S. and the CPSC. Lifts or elevators cause almost 90 % of the deaths and 60 % of serious injuries.
  • Injuries to people working on or near elevators – including those installing, repairing, and maintaining elevators, and working in or near elevator shafts – account for 14 (almost half) of the annual deaths

HOISTS

From 2011 to 2017, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) reported 297 total hoist-related deaths, an average of 42 per year over this 7-year period. Men accounted for 293 of the 297 fatal injuries involving hoists. White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 72 % of fatal injuries involving hoists, while 15 % involved Hispanic and Latino workers.