What are OSHA’s Focus Four Hazards in Construction?

The “Focus Four Hazards” are the four types of injuries in the construction industry that are the most lethal; accounting for nearly two-thirds of on-the-job fatalities of workers in construction (listed below). The Focus Four Types of Injury are: Falling to a lower level, Electrocution, Struck by an object, and Caught in/between an object.

Falls alone account for more than 1/3 of the total number of deaths each year in construction (see dashboard). Because of their combined effect on construction injuries, these Focus Four injury types demonstrate the areas where prevention efforts would have the greatest chance to reduce the number of injuries and the specific hazards associated with them.

Therefore, tracking the occurrence of any type of construction-related injuries provides a means to determine some of the most dangerous types of hazards in construction, and to readily identify any changes that have occurred in the occurrence of any of the Focus Four types of injuries.

In 1994, OSHA created the Focus Four Initiative to address the four leading hazards in construction. The four hazards are:

Falls from heights
Struck by
Caught in between
Electrical shock

The source of this information has been obtained from occupational injury statistics collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) whose responsibility is to collect workplace injury statistics. Together, these four types of hazards produce the overwhelming majority of fatalities and injuries within the construction industry.

Falls to Lower Levels- Focus Four #1

Falls to lower levels are the number one cause of death in the construction industry. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, in 2023 there were 389 reported fatalities from falls to lower levels, out of the 1,075 construction-related fatalities overall.

Construction employers must offer their employees a fall hazard awareness-training program. Employees who may work at heights of six feet or more above lower levels must be trained, educated, and documented. The training must be performed by a qualified and competent person regarding the use of fall protection systems.

As part of that training, employers must train employees in the following areas:

Identification of fall hazards in the workplace
Procedures used for erecting, maintaining, disassembling, and inspecting the fall protection systems to be used
The use and operation of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, warning line systems, safety monitoring systems, controlled access zones, and any other fall protection systems to be used
What role each employee has in the safety monitoring system when the safety monitoring system is in use
Mechanical equipment limitations when roofing on low-sloped roofs
Procedures for handling/storing equipment and materials, and for erecting overhead protection.
What role employees have in fall protection plans
The standards contained in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M Fall Protection

The training on fall protection is a combination of engineering, administrative, and PPE controls. See OSHA’s Fall Prevention Campaign | Occupational Safety and Health Administration [https://www.osha.gov/fall-protection-campaign].

Struck By- Focus Four #2

A Struck By hazard refers to an accident/incident resulting in injury to an employee caused by a falling object, tool, or piece of equipment. Most struck by-type hazards are attributable to improper material & equipment handling, and/or poor housekeeping practices.

Many types of materials and/or equipment create struck by hazards. Generally, struck by-type hazards cause the second most fatalities in construction, and are the most common cause of non-fatal injuries in all construction.

Controls to eliminate struck by exposure may include implementing a drop zone program (Engineering and Administrative Control), and providing employees with reflective vests and hard hats (PPEs).

Caught In/Between- Focus Four #3

This category includes construction workers that are killed when trapped or compressed by equipment or objects, and the hazards involved in being struck, caught, and crushed by a collapsing structure, equipment, or materials. Typically, caught in/between-type injuries are the third-most reported injury in construction.

An average of 300 employees die every year from a trench collapse in the United States. A cubic yard of class C soil (dirt) weighs an average of the same weight as a passenger vehicle.

OSHA has initiated a National Emphasis Program (NEP) directive since 2018, providing direction to enforcement agencies on how to enforce trenching hazards. See: https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/directives/CPL-02-00-161_0.pdf

Other Common Caught In Between Hazards Include:

Moving rotating equipment
Equipment not properly guarded
Equipment tipping over
Getting Caught between a counterweight of a crane and another structure

Electrical Shock- Focus Four #4

Electrocution is the fourth most common cause of death among construction employees in America. There is an average of 143 construction employees that die from electrical contact each year.

According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), electrical workers experience the highest number of electrocutions each year, followed by general laborers, carpenters, supervisors of non-electrical jobs, and roofers.

The most common electrical hazards are overhead power lines (including electrical contact with overhead power lines) and electrical circuits inside electrical panels, unmaintained cords or tools, and lightning strikes. It has been observed that the majority of fatalities associated with electric tools are due to exposure to overhead power (electrical) lines; therefore in order to help prevent the risk of electrocution from a contact with electrical sources, workers need to be aware of the hazards involved and take necessary precautions including being at least 10 feet from overhead power lines as a minimum distance, using ground fault circuit interrupters on extension cords, inspecting all tools prior to use and adhering to the lock-out/tag-out process prior to maintenance on tools and equipment.

There are numerous OSHA standards that pertain to electric tool hazards.

To help better protect workers in the construction industry from electrocution, there is a Focus Four program; the Focus Four program was developed to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries that occur in the construction industry. The Focus Four program targets the four most common hazards that result in deaths to construction workers: falls from heights, struck by an object, caught-in/caught-between and electrical; the Focus Four program is also further defined at: Construction Focus Four Training | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov)

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Focus Four hazards defined by OSHA?

The Focus Four hazards defined by OSHA are as follows:

Falls from heights
Struck-by
Caught-in/caught-between
Electrical (shock/electrocution)

The majority of deaths that occur in construction happen due to one of the Focus Four hazards and therefore OSHA has tailored its training for construction workers to the Focus Four hazards.

Why did OSHA create Focus Four?

OSHA created the Focus Four to eliminate the causes of workplace accidents in the construction industry and to reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths that occur in construction by determining through review of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported accident statistics and designing training programs that educate construction workers of these four hazardous activities and give construction workers the knowledge to prevent injuries from occurring.

What is the leading cause of death in the construction industry?

According to BLS statistics, the leading cause of death for those who work in construction is falls from elevations. OSHA acknowledges that dozens of workers die every year in the construction industry as a result of falling from ladders, roofs and other elevated surfaces.

Therefore, OSHA requires construction employers to utilize fall protection when employees are working at an elevation of 6 feet or greater.

What are examples of common struck-by hazards in construction?

Common struck-by hazards occur when workers are struck by a tool, material or piece of equipment. Some common examples of these types of hazards would be falling tools and materials, construction vehicles that are in motion, and loads that are dropped from overhead cranes, flying debris as it is created by power tools, etc.

Struck-by injuries can be prevented through the use of proper materials handling procedures, drop zone plans, PPE including hard hats and reflective vests, etc.

What does caught-in/caught-between mean in terms of workplace safety?

Caught-in/caught-between hazards occur when workers are trapped, crushed or compressed between objects, equipment or materials. Common occurrences of caught-in/caught-between hazards are tunnel collapses, rotating equipment, rollover of equipment, and workers who become caught-in/caught-between the equipment and a fixed object.

Why are trench collapses dangerous?

Trench collapses can occur in a matter of seconds and result in serious and/or fatal injury to workers involved. For example, soil is extremely heavy and therefore a minor trench collapse can trap or crush workers.

To prevent worker injuries caused from trench collapses, OSHA requires all employers to have a trench protection system (i.e., shoring, sloping, trench box) in place at all times and to complete a thorough inspection of the trench by a competent person prior to beginning work in the trench.

What are some common causes of electrical safety hazards on construction sites?

Common causes of electrical safety hazards associated with electric tools on construction sites include the following: overhead power lines, exposed wires, damaged extension cords, and energized equipment. A variety of workers are usually exposed to live electrical sources which are very dangerous.

How can workers minimize electrical shock on a jobsite?

To reduce the risk of electrical injury, workers should:

Maintain at least 10 feet of minimum clearance from all overhead power lines,
Use GFCIs to protect against ground faults,
Regularly inspect extension cords, tools and equipment,
Always observe and follow proper lockout/tag-out procedures when performing maintenance or repairs on tools and equipment,
Use tools in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction manual.

Why is Focus Four training beneficial for workers?

Focus Four training provides workers with the tools to identify and prevent the most common safety hazards in construction. Through educating their employees about the Focus Four hazards and implementing preventive measures, employers and construction workers can significantly reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities in their workplace.