High-risk Electrical Tasks and Contributing Work Factors

High-risk Electrical Tasks and Contributing Work FactorsBabak Memarian, Sara B. Brooks, Jean Christophe Le, and Jerry E. Rivera.Professional Safety Journal, August 2022.Electrical construction is recognized as a high-risk trade that accounted for about 8% of all fatalities in the construction industry in 2019. Exposure to electrical hazards is not limited to electricians; other trades, such as laborers, structural metalworkers, and linemen, also experience an increased risk of exposure to such hazards. To implement proper preventive controls to create safer jobsites, identifying high-risk electrical tasks and associated work factors that constitute atrisk working conditions seems to be imperative.However, the construction industry lacks a centralized resource offering this comprehensive information. To fill this gap, the researchers pursued three objectives: (1) identify high-risk electrical tasks, (2) explore work factors leading to incidents and near-misses, and (3) identify applied solutions for each task. This research was carried out in collaboration with 14 electrical contractors.production of this document was supported by cooperative agreement OH 009762 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH