With more than a quarter million businesses and homes destroyed or damaged as a result of the 2005 hurricanes, Louisiana's construction employment has grown by 5,200 workers, or 4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, creating the nation's largest reconstruction efforts in recent history. Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC) is reminding construction companies of the importance of establishing safety programs to avoid injuries and fatalities.

According to recent studies, the most frequent construction injuries result from falls, sudden-event traumas such as those that occur from contact with equipment, and action-related events such as lifting.

Construction laborers, carpenters and supervisors account for the largest number of fatalities, with falls accounting for the number one cause of death among all construction workers in the United States. Between 1995 and 2004, 134 work-related deaths in Louisiana were attributed to falls.

"Nationally, falls from heights are the annual leading factor in construction-related fatalities," said Bruce Lambert, LWCC's director of safety and loss prevention. "Falls also represent the highest-cost claims in terms of dollar-value, while sudden-event traumas represent the highest number of claims."

As part of its commitment to helping businesses integrate safety management into their company culture, LWCC is currently developing a focused initiative to improve Louisiana contractors' efforts to manage workplace safety, including partnering with the Associated Builders and Contractors for education and training programs.

LWCC also has produced a new series of "best practices" documents for construction safety management, which are available via www.lwcc.com as a resource for contractors to use in outlining the expectations for workplace safety on their job sites.

"The prevalence of falls as the leading cause of workplace injury is not surprising, considering that most construction jobs generally require physically demanding tasks, some in hazardous conditions. This new series of competency guidelines provides a road map for construction companies to follow as they take action to control the number and severity of workplace injuries, particularly those involving falls," said Lambert.

Below are the critical first steps employers should follow to ensure workplace safety. These steps are detailed in the Competency Guidelines for Construction Safety Management.

• Management commitment to safety -- The employer pledges to provide safe and healthful workplace conditions and in turn expects employees to promote safety and accident prevention as an integral part of their job function.
• Assignment of responsibility for safety -- It is important that there be a clear understanding of management and employee responsibilities.
• Employee training and education -- Have employees sign off on company safety rules, hold regular safety meetings and safety orientations, and have a disciplinary safety policy.

LWCC (www.lwcc.com) is a private, nonprofit mutual insurance company.  It is the state's largest writer of workers' compensation insurance, covering about 22,000 policyholders in Louisiana. The company carries an "A" (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best and, for the sixth year in a row, was named one of the top 50 property and casualty insurance companies in the nation by Ward Group, the leading authority on insurance industry benchmarking.

Sources:
American Journal of Public Health 
CDC (Center for Disease Control) -- eLCOSH (Electronic Library of Construction Occupation  Safety & Health)
Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals
NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health)
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
United States Department of Labor