The new year is the season of choice for self-improvement, healthier options and improved physical fitness. In this issue Tunnels & Tunnelling North America applies that sentiment to the construction industry. Construction accounts for one in every five worker deaths annually, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The leading causes in construction were falls, followed by: struck by object, electrocution, and caught-in/between. These “Fatal Four” as OSHA calls them, were responsible for more than half (58.6 per cent) the construction deaths in 2018. However, accidents are not the only threat in the construction workplace and new efforts to focus on wellbeing and monitor employees and their health, are proving valuable. Christina Lindstrom of Obayashi explains that it is possible to individually identify cognitive impairment in an employee, making it plausible to avoid an accident or near miss all together. Nicole Robinson, editor, talks to Sandro Pinto of Liuna Local 183 about a new tunnel training center breaking ground in Toronto.
