‘Safety at Heights’: ISEA launches campaign on fall protection, dropped objects prevention

Arlington, VA — The International Safety Equipment Association has introduced an initiative to help raise awareness of the dangers of working at height and dropped objects or equipment.

The “Safety at Heights” campaign kicked off May 6 and coincides with OSHA’s sixth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, as well as Construction Safety Week (May 6-10).

Via the SafetyAtHeights.org website, ISEA is providing educational resources for employers and workers, including:

• Facts about dropped objects and workplace deaths and injuries.
• A list of job hazards that workers and employers should be aware of.
• Downloadable PDFs of ISEA and ANSI safety standards.
• Links to more than a dozen online safety resources.

In 2017, falls resulted in 887 worker deaths – about 17% of all work-related fatalities – according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That total is the highest in the 26-year history of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Falling objects or equipment, meanwhile, caused nearly 46,000 injuries. Dropped objects are the third leading cause of injuries in construction, according to OSHA.

“The laws of gravity and physics don’t discriminate,” ISEA President Charles Johnson said in a May 1 press release. “Workers and bystanders, pedestrians and drivers, they’re all exposed to injury and death when a person falls or a piece of equipment is dropped from above.”

The campaign, a partnership effort with the National Association of Tower Erectors and the Associated General Contractors of America, runs through the end of the year.