Fall From Height in Construction Industry: Causes and Prevention

This research paper discusses the causes of fall from height accidents in construction industries and prevention strategies. It also explains different types of research strategies and research ideas related to safety, health, and environment.

Running Head: FALL FROM HEIGHT IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
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Fall From Height In The Construction Industry

FALL FROM HEIGHT IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Review of Journal Paper........................................................................................................................2
Literature Review..................................................................................................................................2
Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.........................................................................................3
Qualitative Research..........................................................................................................................3
Quantitative Research........................................................................................................................3
Types of research strategies...................................................................................................................4
Qualitative research strategy..............................................................................................................4
Quantitative research strategy............................................................................................................4
Applied research strategy..................................................................................................................4
Critical research strategy...................................................................................................................4
Analytic research strategy..................................................................................................................5
Initial research ideas..............................................................................................................................5
References.............................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Working at height is a main key factor for workers in the construction industry, around 40%
of accidents occurs due to falling from a height in industries. To avoid this type of accidents
the government announced many policies and action plans for workers and construction
industries (Ahmed, et al., 2018). Workers are exposed to different hazards such as the manual
lifting of high weight machines and controlling of heavy machines. Fall from height is a
common problem in industries and it is estimated that fall from height is the 2nd major cause
of fatal injury for workers in construction in the UK. The main goal of this research paper is
to discuss the cause of working on height and prevention of fall from height accidents in
construction industries. This paper is also explaining different types of research strategies and
research ideas related to safety, health, and environment.
Review of Journal Paper
The title of the journal paper falls from height in the construction industry, which was
explained by five writers such as Even A. Nadhim, Carol Hon, Bo Xia, Ian Stewart, and
Dongping Fang. According to this journal paper, falls from a height or working at height is a
most common problem which can lead many accidents, hazards, and fatal injuries in
construction industries (Nadhim, et al., 2016). In this paper around 297 articles on fall from a
height, a topic was reviewed. There are many factors associated with fall from a height such
as site conditions, risky activities, agents, lack of security and equipment's, and weather
conditions. The rate of fall from height has increased as compared to other hazards and
accidents in construction industries. In construction industries around 48% of accidents occur
due to fatal injuries and almost 30% of accidents occur due to other injuries, and hazards.
Globally, fall from height denote around one-third of injuries in construction industries, and
working at height are leading many injuries, and fatalities (Alizo, et al., 2018).
Literature Review
A literature review is a sort of insightful paper which is utilized to give a survey on a specific
point. It is likewise a piece of a graduate understudy, incorporating into a journal article. It is
characterized as a survey article which incorporates information, hypothetical, and
methodological of a specific subject. A literature review is likewise given clarification or

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survey of any journal paper (Health and safety international, 2015). There are four kinds of
writing survey utilized as a part of the research, for example, evaluative, instrumental,
exploratory, and methodical audit. There are numerous signs of writing review in research,
for example, give a concise outline of research point, distinguish another way for earlier
research, Locate possess investigate inside the unique situation, Formulate look into the issue,
It makes a report with a gathering of people, and Identify information wellspring of inquired
about the theme.
In the UK falls from height is a common problem for workers in construction industries and it
can lead to many accidents and injuries such as fatal injuries. According to data from HSE
2004, around 24% of accidents occur due to fatal injuries, and 13% of accidents occur from
other injuries such as electric injuries, and UV radiation injuries. The total cost of these
accidents in the UK is around $500 million/ year (Bomel, 2003). According to Bomel
following forms are used to determine the risk mechanism in the UK such as
 Regulation
 UK codes and standards
 HSE guidance
 Strategies and action plan for SHE
 Industry guidance
Bomel provides a report which is based on injuries, infections, diseases, and hazards and it is
estimated that rate of accidents due to falling from height has increased in the UK as
compared to other construction industries.
Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is a kind of essential research which is utilized to understand feelings,
hidden reason, and inspirations. It gives a stage to create thoughts for quantitative research.
Qualitative information can shift using unstructured procedures, and it can be utilized to
clarify thought and opinions in an exploration. There are numerous cases of Qualitative
research, for example, interviews, gather dialogs, Sight, contact, and hearing.

FALL FROM HEIGHT IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
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Quantitative Research
Quantitative information is utilized to find any issue as far as numeric information which can
be changed into statistics information. It is utilized to estimate states of mind, results, and
information from a sample populace. It can be communicated as a number; examples of
quantitative information are a number of hours of study, and scores archive in tests. It
comprises various kinds of reviews, for example, portable, on the web, paper overviews,
telephonic meeting, and precise perceptions. There are many differences between quantitative
and qualitative research such as quantitative data is a subjective process but qualitative data is
an objective process, quantitative data is a non-statistical analysis as compared to qualitative
data, and quantitative data required a small number of samples as compared to qualitative
research.
In this research paper, qualitative and quantitative research can be analyzed. According to
journal paper, quantitative data is like, 48% of accidents occur due to falling from a height,
and 30% of accidents occur due to other injuries, and hazards in construction industries. it is
estimated that around 42.2% of hazards and accidents occurred due to unsafe act and lack of
policies (Hwang, Shan, and Phuah, 2018). Qualitative research is like, there are many reasons
by which accidents and injuries occur in workplaces such as unsafe act, lack of policies,
unsafe conditions, and workers slip from the workplace.
Types of research strategies
Qualitative research strategy
It gives a stage to create thoughts for quantitative research. There are many examples of
qualitative data such as observation, open-ended survey, focus group, and an interview.
Quantitative research strategy
Quantitative research provides a numeric data which can be changed into statistics data.
There are many examples through which quantitative data can be understand such as
statistical, numeric, analysis of collected data, and mathematical (National Centre for
Biotechnology Information, 2014).

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Applied research strategy
The goal of any exploration technique is to discover an answer for a specific issue. It is
connected by an association or government to decide the answer for a specific issue.
Critical research strategy
It is utilized to uncover any claim about the general public. By this examination
methodology, any creator picks conclusion of a specific culture. Case: A man inquires about
and discovers that Indians are more bigotry than Nigerians in America.
Analytic research strategy
It involves the use of information and facts. Generally, this type of research strategy is used
to analyze different research ideas. For example, research on the condition of people in
America after the 13th amendment and analysis different types of injuries, and accidents in the
construction industry.
Initial research ideas
Working at height is a most common problem for workers in construction industries. There
are many factors that are leading to falling from a height such as over-reaching, unbalancing,
lack of policies, inspection holes, and overbalancing (Minister of manpower, 2008). Fall from
height can be reduced by providing a safety platform and edge protection where workers can
work. In this type of conditions, a ladder can be used to reduce accidents, and injuries in
construction industries (Nadhim, et al., 2016). There are many methods or steps through
which these types of accidents and other injuries can be reduced in construction industries
such as provide proper training to workers for working at height, use equipment’s for safety,
make policies, and strategies for workers to avoid injuries, and provide a suitable workplace
where workers can work (Winge, and Albrechtsen, 2018). According to the above journal
paper, it is very important to study about accidents and injuries in construction industries and
every construction industry required a platform to reduce these types of injuries. For which
government should be made different policies and strategies for workers to reduce the rate of
accidents in construction industries.

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References
Ahmed, I., Shaukat, M. Z., Usman, A., Nawaz, M. M., and Nazir, M. S. (2018) Occupational
health and safety issues in the informal economic segment of Pakistan: a survey of
construction sites. International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics, 24(2), pp.
240-250.
Alizo, G., Sciarretta, J. D., Gibson, S., Muertos, K., Romano, A., Davis, J., and Pepe, A.
(2018). Fall from heights: does height really matter?. European journal of trauma and
emergency surgery, 44(3), pp. 411-416.
Bomel, L. (2003). Falls from height-Prevention and risk control effectiveness. [online]
Available from: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr116.pdf [Accessed 13/07/18].
Health & safety international (2015) Working at Height Hazards and Control Measures.
[online] Available from: https://www.hsimagazine.com/article/working-at-height-hazards-
and-control-measures [Accessed 13/07/18].
Health Safety and Environment (2007) First evaluation of the impact of the work at height
regulations First evaluation of the removal of the 'two-meter rule'. [online] Available from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr521.pdf [Accessed 13/07/18].
Hwang, B. G., Shan, M., and Phuah, S. L. (2018) Safety in green building construction
projects in Singapore: Performance, critical issues, and improvement solutions. KSCE
Journal of Civil Engineering, 22(2), pp. 447-458.
Minister of manpower (2008) Safety Analysis & Recommendation Report on Work at Height.
[online] Available from:
http://www.mom.gov.sg/~/media/mom/documents/press-releases/2009/annex%20b%20-
%20safety%20analysis%20and%20recommendation%20report%20on%20work%20at
%20height%20(021209).pdf [Accessed 13/07/18].
Nadhim, E. A., Hon, C., Xia, B., Stewart, I., and Fang, D. (2016) Falls from Height in the
Construction Industry: A Critical Review of the Scientific Literature. International journal of
environmental research and public health, 13, p. 638.
National Centre for Biotechnology Information (2014) Research on Fall Prevention and
Protection from Heights in Japan. [online] Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4246528/pdf/indhealth-52-399.pdf
[Accessed 13/07/18].
Winge, S., and Albrechtsen, E. (2018) Accident types and barrier failures in the construction
industry. Safety science, 105, pp. 158-166.