Print this page OSHA Fatal Facts: Fatalities Caused by Improper Work Practices
Mark P. Rossow, PhD, PE Retired
Course Outline
This four-hour online course provides background information on work-related accidents and on principles of accident prevention. The main focus of the course, however, is on thirty of OSHA’s Fatal Facts, summaries of accidents in which fatalities occurred because of improper work practices. For each accident, the student learns OSHA’s accident prevention recommendations and what is available in the way of OSHA help for the employer seeking to avoid accidents in similar situations.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will
- Recognize common sense principles of accident prevention based on training, safety devices, and supervision;
- Be familiar with some of OSHA’s accident prevention recommendations for falls, asphyxiation, and nail gun injuries;
- Understand principles of some of OSHA’s accident prevention recommendations for falling objects, trenches, electrocution and working near machinery;
- Know the importance of regular worksite inspections and supervision;
- Know the significance of having a designated competent person present on the site;
- Recognize the importance of training employees to operate equipment competently;
- Recognize the importance of informing or reminding employees of the particular hazards associated with their present job;
- Be familiar with the extent and types of work-related accidents occurring in the United States;
- Be cognizant of the extent and types of construction-industry accidents occurring in the United States;
- Be able to list a representative sample of the most frequently cited OSHA violations;
- Be aware of OSHA resources for helping employers reduce the danger of accidents;
- Be cognizant of the disproportionate role played by falls in the fatal accidents totals;
- Understand terms such as “Caught-in/between”;
- Know the Fatal Four leading causes of construction accidents; and
- Be familiar with the number and types of accidents that occur nationally.
Intended Audience
This course is intended primarily for civil, construction, mechanical, and industrial engineers and others who are responsible for employee safety and OSHA compliance in potentially hazardous occupations.
Benefit to Attendees
An attendee of this course will be aware of a wide variety of hazardous situations that can exist on the job and will know what steps to take to mitigate these hazards.
Course Introduction
This article is based on case studies taken from OSHA’s “Fatal Facts”—descriptions of accidents in which one or more workers died because of improper work practices. Reading and thinking about these case studies gives an immediacy and emotional impact—“Do you mean somebody died because of this?”—that can’t be obtained from an abstract discussion of general principles alone.
Course Content
This course uses thirty accident summaries from OSHA’s Fatal Facts. Additional material in the form of statistics and lists of types of job-related accidents that occur nationwide are included. Three recommendations are given for accident prevention through proper work practices.
OSHA Fatal Facts: Fatalities Caused by Improper Work Practices
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Course Summary
Persons responsible for worker safety learn, through background material on accident types and frequency, and through reading OSHA’s accident summaries of fatal accidents, how the likelihood of such accidents can be reduced.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
