WorkSafe: Managing the Risk of Falling Objects

Reducing onsite injuries

Falling or dropped objects remain a leading cause of injury in the construction industry. Each year, WorkSafe is notified of around 500 incidents involving dropped objects. Falling objects can injure people inside or outside of the construction site. They can be influenced by the wind or by deflecting off the structure or equipment.

Falling objects are mostly construction tools and materials. They can include hand tools, scaffold parts, external cladding and timber. Even small objects like a nut or bolt can be fatal when dropped from a height. WorkSafe’s Dropped Object Calculator estimates that a 30-gram nut or bolt falling seven storeys would hit someone at ground level with the same force as being hit by a skateboard travelling at 42 kmh.

The Dropped Object Calculator can be used to estimate the ground impact speed and equivalent force of common building objects falling from different heights.

The hierarchy of control must be used when controlling risks associated with construction work, like being struck by a dropped object.  This is explained in Part 5.1 of the OHS Regulations 2017.

1. Eliminate hazards and risks: consider different methods of construction so the risk of an object falling is removed
2. Next, consider how to reduce the risk of a dropped object by:
   1. substitution (materials or building methods with less risk of dropping objects
   2. isolation of people from the area of risk, and
   3. engineering solutions (pre-assembly, fall screens or scaffold, systems of work)
3. Administrative controls and PPE are only to be considered after all other options have been exhausted.

Many hazards and risks can be eliminated or controlled when designing and planning the construction of the building or structure. Things like pre-fabrication, ground-level assembly or replacing building materials are a great way to provide a higher level of protection.

For more information on falling objects and the risks of falling objects, explore the resources available on the WorkSafe website.