Falls from Height in the Construction Industry: A Critical Review of the Scientific Literature

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 13; no. 7; p. 638
• Main Authors: Nadhim, Evan A, Hon, Carol, Xia, Bo, Stewart, Ian, Fang, Dongping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.06.2016; MDPI
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Accidents, Occupational - statistics & numerical data; Autopsies; Construction accidents & safety; Construction industry; Construction Industry - statistics & numerical data; Data collection; Falls; Fatalities; Humans; Injuries; Keywords; Ladders; Literature reviews; Meta-analysis; Occupational accidents; Public Health; Quantitative analysis; Questionnaires; Research methodology; Review; Reviews; Safety; Safety engineering; Search strategies; Statistical methods; Urban planning; Weather; Workers; Australia; United States > US; construction accidents; construction activities and prevention strategies; fall from height
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13070638

Globally, falls from height (FFH) are a substantial public health jeopardy and are among the important leading causes of serious and fatal injuries for construction workers. A comprehensive understanding of the causal factors in FFH incidents is urgently required; however, the literature appears to lack a scientific review of FFH. In this study, 297 articles that contribute to the topic of fall incidents were reviewed. Seventy-five (75) articles met the criteria for relevance and were aggregated in a database to support a critical review. A synthesis of macro-variables approach was adopted rather than a structured meta-analysis. Such a method of analysis provides the flexibility to combine previous studies' findings. The most common factors associated with FFH are risky activities, individual characteristics, site conditions, organizational characteristics, agents (scaffolds/ladders) and weather conditions. The outcomes contributed to identifying the most significant research area for safety enhancement by improving engineering facilities, behaviour investigations and FFH prevention methods.