Advanced Risk Modeling is Transforming the Insurance Industry and Challenging the Status Quo in Lifting Operations

haotic and spinning crane load injuries being highlighted by OSHA Training Institute, Construction Focus Four: Being Struck by Hazards should come as no surprise for those involved in the crane industry. These findings reflect the need to improve lifting operations and to keep workers safe. As these citations keep appearing in OSHA literature year after year, sophisticated risk mitigation computer models are now being utilized by regulators and insurance companies to understand the problem. The data so far has pointed to the use of load stabilization technology as a way to significantly reduce worksite injuries and deaths while also increasing lifting efficiency at the same time. 

The models utilized data from hundreds of thousands of historical construction job site observations and analyzed patterns to predict the likelihood of a safety incident occurring and were able to accurately predict that an accident would happen in 92% of the cases they analyzed.  

To no surprise of those involved in safety management, worksite safety incidents are costly to everyone involved. 25.4% of the crane accidents in the United States are due to personnel being struck or caught by spinning crane loads. One in 9,000 cranes will cause a fatality each year. Given that on average, a single injury will cost $200,000 and a single fatality will cost $4,000,000, annual costs to the industry are now approaching $15 billion. 

Given the extreme cost, insurance carriers are now also turning to these models to determine risks and intervene before incidents can occur. A recorded pattern of recognizing and controlling hazards allows them to address corrective actions to mitigate hazards when and where identified.  Among the patterns these models are revealing is the quantifiable risk reduction associated with the use of active load stabilization devices. Current modeling points to a 300% fatality risk reduction and a 63.1% overall accident reduction on sites that utilize the Vita Load Navigator. It is a safe bet that load stabilization devices will soon become an industry standard practice endorsed and, in some cases, required by site owners and insurers.