In 2017, the last year for which data are available, 183 people died in Texas in occupations relating to construction, installation, repair, maintenance and extraction, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s one every two days.
This rate may underestimate the scale of the problem, as the deaths of workers without papers may not be reported to authorities.
— Global Construction Review
A report from Global Construction Review delves into troubling data coming out of Texas, where official construction-related deaths number in the triple digits.
One potential reason for rising deaths in construction and related industries could lie in lax inspections.
According to Global Construction Review, the Occupational Heath and Safety Administration (OSHA) conducted only 40 crane inspections across all of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana over a nine month period starting in October 2018.
That record comes as the number of crane-related fatalities Texas exceeds those in all other states. 50 people died between 2011 and 2017 while operating cranes, according to the report, more than three times the number of deaths that occurred in the state with the next highest toll.
30 Comments
Sorry, architectural community is only interested in dying construction workers of Zaha Hadid Architects projects in inferior (and Islamic) Arab lands!!
No, but there is actual slavery in some of those places and it’s a far worse human rights violations than the article about Texas...more comparable to Texas circa 1850...
If we are talking about human cruelty... let's say in Texas.., look at your border detention centers, god sake, for children. More comparable to.., cruelest.
If we are talking comparative humanity. Right?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar
Not even close. Qatar wins by a landslide in human rights violations. It’s also far more conservative, so why are you defending it? Homosexuality punishable by death, dress code, women’s testimony worth 1/2 a mans, etc etc. not saying border facilities are good, but if you actually believe that a place like Qatar is equally as fucked up you are lying to yo self. Stay woke though.
And I’m pretty sure they are as much “your” border detention centers as mine. You are an American no?
you are right i don't care about qatar other than that pointing out to a biased pickiness of people. some of the things you are listing are biased. we just heard about death penalty here. dress code.., none of your business, are you from that state where anal sex is punishable by law?and, me being what citizen is not so much your business.
Not sure what state you are referring to. I mentioned your status as an American because you said “look at your border detention...”. It’s as much yours at it is mine. We are both Americans. You live here too I thought?.
Only difference citizenship make in this conversation is the bias you have. I read that kind of friskiness from your posts as if looking for nationalistic qualifications to point a bias (I won't stretch to racism.) Zaha Hadid had a lot of people hated her guts because of her dual nationality as an Arab Iraqi and a leading woman architect. She was defiant and not a good girl...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
I love Zaha. No bias at all. In fact, I root even harder for under represented peoples to succeed. I Just think the critiques of her working in certain places were justified, but she’s kind of apolitical in her own way, and certainly an architect formalist first. That’s fine. You made the comparison between Texas and the places where she was criticized for working in. Just saying that it’s a false equivalency. Texas isn’t perfect, but far more liberal than Qatar. That’s also NOT saying that the people of Qatar are to blame. Beautiful people like anywhere else. People are equal everywhere. The government and laws of different places are not all equal though. Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, etc. I don’t care what color or religion...it’s not about that. And, I’m not nationalist at all. I would like all borders to eventually melt away. The idea of dividing people on a silly little blue planet is ridiculous imo. We are sooo cosmically close...to see otherwise is just lack of perspective...At the same time, I want the people of the planet to all experience liberty, because I believe they can handle it.
So what's your problem with Qatar's dress code? They can equally and freely express their cultural traditions. Why did you bring that up? Treatment of homosexuality is one of the most abused human rights anywhere. Why are you singling out Qatar? And slavery.., oh, I'll just stop there. It wasn't a Qatari invention.
Let's get to the actual content of this and not the various definitions of polemics.
You brought up Zaha.
Dress codes are ok with you?
Who am I to dictate what should they wear, what’s right for them to wear is their business? I don’t decide what’s right for people, let alone for different cultures than mine. You obviously do So, who are you? What gives you that self righteousness?
3 things
1. I don’t care what other cultures wear or do so long as it’s not coerced/forced by a powerful police state. Its not freedom when an authoritarian state mandates certain practices and punishes those who stray from traditional ways of life. This is directly related to homosexuality being punishable by prison/death, and blasphemy. That’s oppressive. Without state enforcement, cultures can still have cultural norms, rules, practices. That’s absolutely none of my business, and imo makes the world a more rich and beautiful place.
2. You are actually kind of promoting a strong nationalist state. Why is nationalism and theocracy ok when done by an Islamic state, but not a Christian one?
3. China is currently holding 1.2 million Muslims in prison for their beliefs. That is also oppressive. Can China claim that its their culture to ban Muslim religion and re-educate then in detention centers? I personally believe that no state should have the authority to suppress freedom of speech, religion, culture, expression, etc.
Your armchair getting softer and softer to gobble you up. Have a nice day!
Typical leftist dismount.
Pro life, only when it helps you politically.
Libertarian lite policies in Texas; fuck the regulatory state.
Funny, just drove through LA...the regulatory heavy state...looks pretty fuckin bad...
But paper straws...so...
In 2017, there were 69 fatalities in construction in the state of California. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/cfoi/CFOI_2017/Fatalities-Report-2013-2017.pdf
Of the 69 cases in 2017, 32 fatalities in Construction were from Falls, Trips, and Slips and 15 from Transportation Incidents.
I’d like to see a more in depth comparison. Types of construction, amount of construction, etc. stick framed homes are a totally different animal than high rise as you know.
I have no problem with safety regs btw if they work. Don’t think your average libertarians really care either.
First, here's the article the full article:
http://www.globalconstructionr...
I appreciate the longer article at least for offering a bit more context, including a conclusion that hints at a lack of safety training. Though, the shifty framing still gets me suspicious. I.e., why list 5 states for the 40 crane inspections when Texas is the current number one state for total construction workers https://www.bls.gov/oes/curren... while the others listed in that crane grouping have a fraction of that construction? Sounds like trying to frame a narrative. And on that what's the scale? How many workers are there per state, and how do these rates of death compare to other states? What projects are going on in Texas? At the very least I'm sure that Texas having tons of construction right now could explain this. I'm trying to find the construction fatalities for other states. If anyone can point me that way I'd be interested in untangling this.
Yes, I think the article errs by dealing with net numbers rather than per capita. Texas will invariably tend to have a bigger number of accident deaths than states 1/3-1/5 its size in geography and population. Deaths per thousand workers would be a much more fair comparison. The current high level of activity in the building industry in Texas relative to much smaller amounts of activity in most of the USA is neglected as well.
Agree
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