Fatalities in the construction sector are on the rise as the industry’s workforce ages and youngsters show no interest in replacing them — a challenge that safety experts are looking to mitigate in part through the use of new technologies.
The total number of construction fatalities has been climbing for several years, with 738 deaths reported in 2011 and 991 deaths reported in 2016, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The leading causes of deaths in the construction industry were falls, electrocutions, struck by object, caught in or between equipment, according to the bureau.