Data Sources and Limitations for Construction Safety and Health Surveillance

Construction is a dangerous industry plagued with daily occupational hazards and perils. To protect construction workers' lives and health, it is fundamental to have reliable and comprehensive surveillance systems in order to track worker safety and health performance and provide the basis for interventions.

CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training has conducted construction safety and health surveillance since 1990. Through daily research and activities, we found that the major surveillance data collections, such as the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), cannot fully meet our needs. To improve the integrity of construction safety and health surveillance, we have used a multitude of alternative data sources to supplement the current surveillance systems. These data sources provide information on demographics, industry, health, health service utilization, healthcare expenses, and workers' compensation, in addition to work-related injuries and illnesses. These data sources enable us to characterize the changing construction industry and its workforce, estimate the impact of the changing economy on worker safety and health, and identify emerging issues, high-risk sectors and occupations, and vulnerable populations in the industry.

Although data collection systems nationwide have been enhanced and improved in recent years, the pace of improvement lags far behind the rapidly changing construction industry and economy. This presentation will introduce existing data sources that can be used for construction safety and health surveillance, including data accessibility, completeness, and comparability. The advantages and limitations of these data sources will be also discussed.