The History and Evolution of Construction Safety Regulations
The History and Evolution of Construction Safety Regulations
The emphasis on safety regulations in the construction industry has grown exponentially over the past 125 years. Today the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is the primary agency for safety legislation in the United States. Construction regulations are addressed in section 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). But how did OSHA come about? In this report I will address the evolution of construction regulations in the United States.
In 1887 Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate the railroad industry. The act created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). This was a huge step in legislation because it became the first regulatory agency created by the federal government. The original intent of the commission was to control the railroad monopoly by regulating price gouging. However, the ICC laid the foundation for safety regulations after publishing accident statistics within the railroad industry in 1889. The publishing led Congress to pass the Federal Safety Appliance Act of 1893 which mandated air brakes and automatic couplers on all railcars. This was the government’s first attempt at improving safety on the job site. Railroad companies were slow to react to the new legislation. Death and injuries on railroad sites continued to be considered a minor inconvenience by the massive corporations, despite the government’s insistence on safety. It wasn’t until it started costing company’s money, that safety would become a true focus.
Despite efforts made by the Federal Safety Appliance Act to increase safety for rail workers, injuries and fatalities were still all too common. The average fatality rate for railroad workers was one in three hundred. This didn’t seem to bother the railroad companies who paid very little, if anything at all, to the families of employees that died. Due to public outcry over wrong doing by the railroad companies, the
The emphasis on safety regulations in the construction industry has grown exponentially over the past 125 years. Today the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is the primary agency for safety legislation in the United States. Construction regulations are addressed in section 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). But how did OSHA come about? In this report I will address the evolution of construction regulations in the United States.
In 1887 Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate the railroad industry. The act created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). This was a huge step in legislation because it became the first regulatory agency created by the federal government. The original intent of the commission was to control the railroad monopoly by regulating price gouging. However, the ICC laid the foundation for safety regulations after publishing accident statistics within the railroad industry in 1889. The publishing led Congress to pass the Federal Safety Appliance Act of 1893 which mandated air brakes and automatic couplers on all railcars. This was the government’s first attempt at improving safety on the job site. Railroad companies were slow to react to the new legislation. Death and injuries on railroad sites continued to be considered a minor inconvenience by the massive corporations, despite the government’s insistence on safety. It wasn’t until it started costing company’s money, that safety would become a true focus.
Despite efforts made by the Federal Safety Appliance Act to increase safety for rail workers, injuries and fatalities were still all too common. The average fatality rate for railroad workers was one in three hundred. This didn’t seem to bother the railroad companies who paid very little, if anything at all, to the families of employees that died. Due to public outcry over wrong doing by the railroad companies, the