Factors associated with falls in apprentice carpenters

We examined associations between reported falls from height in apprentice carpenters and factors intrinsic to the apprentices and extrinsic at the worksite. Apprentice carpenters completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing work experience, knowledge, risk perception, confidence, journeymen carpenter to apprentice ratio at the worksite, work crew behavior, and safety climate. Relationships between odds of falling and these intrinsic and extrinsic factors were examined with backward conditional logistic regression. 1,026 carpenter apprentices completed the survey, with a response rate of 98.8%. Sixteen percent (n=164) of all apprentices had sustained a fall from a height in the past year; the majority of these falls did not result in medical treatment or work absence. Independent predictors of fall from height in the past year included recent residential work experience (OR=3.28, 95%CI=1.29-8.33), scoring below the median on a scale reflecting crew behavior (OR=1.79, 95%CI=1.18-2.70), and a journeyman carpenter to apprentice ratio of less than 2:1 (OR=1.67, 95%CI=0.99-2.86). We did not find significant associations between recent fall history and safety climate or the apprentices' knowledge, risk perceptions, or confidence. These results provide evidence of the importance of extrinsic factors at the worksite in the prevention of falls. Apprentices reporting falls from height reported more unsafe behaviors by crewmembers and working at sites with fewer experienced senior carpenters. Workers in residential construction were more likely to report falls than those in commercial construction. These results suggest that training interventions will not be effective in reducing falls unless accompanied by worksite changes.