Construction has historically been one of the most dangerous industries in the world. And that still holds true today. The combination of outdoor work environments, incomplete structures, and heavy equipment creates a wide range of hazards.
Recent trends
The good news is that even though construction remains a dangerous industry, there are positive trends that show it’s getting safer. In 2024, there were 1,034 construction fatalities in the United States, but that number was down by 41 from 2023.
But what caused that reduced number? And does it indicate a broader trend?
What changed?
There are a few reasons things seem to be improving in construction. A lot has happened in the last few years, from increased awareness and new regulations to improved tools and equipment.
Let’s take a closer look:
Increased awareness
Safety awareness has skyrocketed in recent years for a lot of reasons. Broadly speaking, things like social media or online forums have helped construction professionals connect to discuss challenges they face on a daily basis related to a wide range of issues, safety included.
But a lot of the credit goes to specific safety-related campaigns. These include campaigns run by government agencies like OSHA, or more involved self-assessment campaigns by independent trade organizations like ABC National with their STEP program, which helps companies take a closer look at their own safety practices and identify areas for growth.
New laws and regulations
Laws and regulations have also caught up to more comprehensively address the safety issues faced on modern jobsites. OSHA released a series of new regulations in 2025 aimed at making jobsites safer to help keep the trend of increasing safety moving forward.
One of the most significant new regulations is the new reporting requirements, which mandate more specific documentation of injuries and illness. OSHA also added new fall protection guidelines, enhanced standards for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use and maintenance, and requirements for communication around the handling of hazardous materials.
Better tools and equipment
A big reason safety is improving on jobsites is the innovations in safety technology that have emerged recently. Physical equipment like smart health monitoring wearables protect employees by tracking worker location and detecting falls, and cooling PPE can help prevent heat exhaustion.
Other tools like drones, remote demolition tools, or robotics can protect workers by keeping them away from hazardous areas so that more high-risk work can be performed without posing any danger to humans.
One other major area of innovation has been digital tools. These include things like digital checklists that help keep companies compliant with safety best practices, incident reporting to help companies assess common issues and prepare for OSHA submissions, and even observations that empower workers to identify hazards and other problems that need to be addressed before they become larger issues.
Modernize your safety practices with Raken
Raken helps you cover your bases with our comprehensive safety management platform. This includes managed checklists, incident reporting, toolbox talks, and safety and quality observations. We even offer safety dashboards and insights that gather data from these tools so you can identify trends and generate KPIs for more proactive safety management.
Plus, we integrate directly with OSHA submit so that reporting is that much easier. Paired with our incident reporting feature, this is the full package to alleviate those end-of-year submission headaches.
Reach out today and schedule a demo so you can start being proactive with jobsite safety.