Building camps and work related injuries.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Construction Safety
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Construction sites, particularly large ones, often have high accident rates.
• Worker housing arrangements, such as living in on-site camps versus daily commuting, are potential factors influencing injury rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether living in building-site camps, compared to daily commuting, predicts reported work-related injuries among construction workers.
• To assess the association between accommodation type and injury occurrence in the construction industry.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of construction workers was established using personnel files from contractors involved in the Great Belt Bridge construction.
• Data included employment periods and accommodation status (camp or non-camp).
• The cohort was followed up for injuries reported to the National Work Environment Authority.

Main Results:

• Construction workers in camps reported 217 accidents (24 serious/fatal), while non-camp workers reported 262 accidents (29 serious/fatal).
• The relative risk (RR) for all accidents for camp versus non-camp residents was 0.84 (95% CI 0.69 to 1.00).
• The RR for serious or fatal accidents was 0.85 (95% CI 0.47 to 1.52).

Conclusions:

• Living in on-site camps was associated with a slightly lower risk of reported accidents compared to daily commuting.
• Findings suggest that implementing on-site accommodation could be a strategy to reduce accident rates at large construction sites.