Underlying causes of accidents involving falls from elevation in building repair and maintenance works

The construction industry has been identified as one of the most hazardous industries. A distinctive characteristic of Hong Kong is the large number of high-rise buildings; however, many high-rise buildings in the old districts are in desperate need of maintenance due to deterioration. In order to protect the living conditions, there is an increasing demand for the repair and proper maintenance of existing housing stocks. Unfortunately, most research focuses on new construction with the repair and maintenance sector often being neglected. Of all the construction-related injuries, fall accidents are the leading cause of death and thus provoking great concern among industrial practitioners in Hong Kong. There is an urgent need to investigate the causes of fall accidents and to make recommendations to avoid recurrence of similar accidents.||Based on the accident statistics obtained from the Labour Department (LD) of the HKSAR Government over the last five years (2000-2004), this paper examines the underlying causes of accidents involving falls from elevation in building repair and maintenance works. The nature of the accidents was analyzed according to the demographic characteristics of the victims, e.g. age and gender. Situations and locations with high risk, and seasonal distributions of accidents were identified. With a better understanding of the underlying causes of fall accidents, effective means can be developed to avoid the recurrence of similar accidents.