Both fall prevention and fall protection concerns, processes and planning are continuing to increase for businesses across the globe. The global fall protective and personal protective equipment market was valued at over $40 billion in 2017, an increase from 2016. Agencies that oversee safety, such as OSHA, continue to enforce, develop and uphold worker safety regulations across all aspects, with the leading concern pertaining to falls in the workplace. The stringent focus of preventing falls is expected to drive the growth of the global fall protection market over the next five years. Market research analysis conducted by Technavio predicts the global fall protection industry to increase at a compound annual growth rate of over 9 percent by 2021.
OSHA has said that slips, trips and falls continue to be one of the leading causes of work-related injuries and fatalities. OSHA further stated that a little over 15 percent of all accidental deaths are related to slips, trips and falls, which is second only to motor vehicles as a leading cause of workplace fatalities. The increase in the number of workplace fatalities and injuries only continues to raise awareness and forces employers to focus on employee safety by evaluating current procedures and ensuring the needed proactive solutions are in place; this will propel the market's growth for years to come.
The market continues to see an exponential increase in the amount of safety training. Training is undertaken due to growing awareness of safety risks in industries such as oil and gas, specialty chemicals, energy, construction and many others in the industrial sector. A few years ago, OSHA conducted a National Fall Protection Stand-Down to raise awareness about fall-based injuries and fatalities. This helped promote training activities and, in turn, assisted in the growth of the fall protection industry.
According to OSHA, "Falls from heights and on the same level (a working surface) are among the leading causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths." OSHA has issued a final rule on walking- working surfaces and personal fall protection systems to better protect workers from these hazards by updating and clarifying standards and adding training and inspection requirements.
The rule incorporates advances in technology, industry best practices and national consensus standards to provide effective and cost-efficient worker protection. Specifically, it updates standards addressing slip, trip and fall hazards, and adds requirements for personal fall protection systems.
The leader in the global fall protection equipment market is the North American region, largely in part to the several safety standards set forth by government bodies. However, across the globe, companies have made workplace safety a priority and have established or continue to establish a process and set of safety guidelines to help reduce workplace hazards that would ultimately impact operational costs through settlements and/or compensation costs. The huge avoidable costs associated with the noncompliance of fall prevention safety measures are anticipated to increase the need and focus of fall protection by pushing companies to take immediate action, avoiding this concern altogether.
As the market continues to trend upward, we're finding that more and more companies are making fall protection one of their leading priorities. Organizations are more familiar with all the changing regulations and the constant risks and are not just content with the measures already in place. Fall prevention also requires a companywide culture focused on safety as well as OSHA-certified fall prevention measures.
It's no surprise that one of the major ongoing concerns for companies is to improve the safety of their employees by evaluating best practices and their surrounding workspaces. We all know how quickly accidents in the workplace can occur and just how devastating they can be. As workplaces grow and evolve, fall prevention methods are evolving and improving as well, with the continual focus of providing your employees with the safest working environment.
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