Falls from height during the floor slab formwork of buildings: Current situation in Spain

Problem

One of the phases with the highest risk of falls from a height in the construction of a building is during the floor slab formwork stage. This paper analyzes this particular risk, as well as the most frequently used fall-protection systems.

Method

A survey was carried out to define the current situation in Spain with regard to falls from a height during floor slab formwork and the fall-protection systems used to prevent such a risk.

Results

The results of the survey clarified the current situation in Spain with regard to this risk, and made it clear that there is considerable risk of falling from a height during the floor slab formwork stage.

Discussion

All the safety systems analyzed presented a series of weak points that should be studied in detail before they can be used on building sites.

Impact on industry

The risk of falling associated with floor slab formwork and the most frequently used protection systems are analyzed. As no research had been carried out to date on this type of risk, we consider the research presented in this article to be a pioneer in the field.     

Epidemiology of subway-related fatalities in New York City, 1990-2003

Problem

Subway transit is a relatively safe mode of transportation, yet compared to all other forms of mass transit in the United States (U.S.), subways have the highest fatality rate. The aim of this paper is to characterize subway-related fatalities in order to identify opportunities for risk reduction.

Method

Medical examiner records for all New York City (NYC) subway-related deaths (1990-2003) were reviewed. Data were abstracted on decedents' demographics and autopsy findings, including laboratory findings.

Results

There were 668 subway-related fatalities, of these, 10 (1.5%) were homicides, 343 (51.3%) were determined to be suicides, and 315 (47.2%) were accidental. Although decedent characteristics varied between fatality categories, they were not particularly informative with regard to prevention.

Conclusion

Prevention strategies that focus on structural controls are likely to be most efficacious in improving the overall safety of the NYC subway systems.

Impact on industry

These findings suggest that structural rather than individual-level interventions would be most successful in preventing subway fatalities.     

Pedestrian Casualties and Fatalities in Road Traffic Crashes in a South African Municipality

A study of the pedestrian casualties and fatalities in road traffic crashes in Durban, a South African municipality, for 1999 was undertaken using official road traffic accident data. The pedestrians age 25 to 44, although only 23.9% of the population, were 39.3% of the casualties and 48.2% of the fatalities. The most vulnerable pedestrians were those 30 to 34 years old who were 6.1% of the population, 11.7% of the casualties, and 14.6% of the fatalities; 35- to 39-year-olds who were 6% of the population, 8.8% of the casualties, and 13.5% of the fatalities; and the 40- to 44-year-olds who were 4.9% of the population, 7.5% of the casualties, and 10.2% of the fatalities. Cars were involved in 52% of the vehicle-pedestrian crashes but had fewer crashes than minibuses and buses, and fewer casualties and fatalities than minibuses, buses, and motorcycles. Minibuses recorded the most crashes at 1,037 per 100 million km, the highest casualty rate of 268 per 100 million km, and highest fatality rate of 17 per 100 million km. Buses, which were involved in 3% of the vehicle-pedestrian crashes, had 951 crashes per 100 million km, 182 casualties per 100 million km, and 11 fatalities per 100 million km. Motorcycles were involved in 1% of the vehicle-pedestrian crashes and had per 100 million km 508 crashes, 192 casualties, and 7 fatalities. There was no statistically significant difference in the monthly distribution of the road traffic crashes.