Comparison of costs of personal protective equipment for all workers to avoid costs of fall accidents

The construction industry is one of the most important industries in the United States. It is the biggest contributor in the growth of the U.S. economy. Despite the great achievements and prominent role for this sector in the U.S. economy, the construction industry is suffering from neglect and dereliction by related government institutions and private companies. This neglect led to formation of a negative image about the construction industry that has caused a deep impact in productivity and economic growth. One of the reasons is a high percentage of accidents that occur within the construction industry which leads to injuries and fatalities. The construction industry consists of about 5% of the U.S.A work force, and accounts for some 20% of the work fatalities and 12% of disabling injuries. The largest percentages of fatalities or injuries in the construction industry were the result of a fall. The falling fatality rate was about 33.3% of the total attributed most common accidents in this sector at 2010 (CPWR, 2013), and this percentage increased in 2012 as the number of fatalities due to falls was to 280 out of 775 people killed in industrial constructions (United States Department of Labor, 2012). This thesis is a comparison between the total cost of fall accidents and costs of protective programs to reduce a fall accidents. The lack of accurate information about costs is one of the main reasons that employers show little interest in supporting the protective systems to avoid a fall hazards. The mechanism that was used in this thesis is a realistic comparison between costs that may occur as a result of fall accident in the construction industry, and costs of use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). --Abstract, page iii