Hello, everyone.
This is Enta.
Do you know about working at heights for older adults?
Basically, when you search for laws on Google,
Restrictions for those under 18:
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act,Minors under the age of 18 are prohibited from engaging in hazardous or harmful work, including work at heights....is being done.
This is a measure designed to protect the physical and mental health and safety of minors.
Age limit:
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and other laws, the age limit for working at heights isThere is no upper limit.
In other words, as long as you're 18 or older, in theory,Engage in work at heights at any ageYes, you can.
But what is the reality?
What is the definition of an older worker in the construction industry?
There is no clear definition of what constitutes “elderly,” but,
Under the “Act on the Stabilization of Employment for Older Workers and Others,” older workers55 years of age or olderAccording to these figures, the proportion of older workers in the construction industry is approximately 35.8 percent.
And, in reality, the only people who can’t work on-site as slope maintenance workers are those aged 65 or older.
Isn't this actually pretty crazy? lol
According to data from 2024,According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, people aged 55 and older account for about 37 percent.
According to the AI simulation, if the current situation is set at 100% (with no replenishment), the percentage of workers capable of performing work at heights five years from now will be approximately 76%.
It will be about 63% in 10 years.
This means there will be a significant increase in the number of contractors who can no longer work for general contractors.
However, there have also been accidents.
After looking into various things,
-
Older adults (age 65 and older) areThe risk of accidents caused by falls is clearly higher、Compared to those in their 30s, the rate is about twice as high for men and about three times as high for women.The incidence rate has been confirmed.
-
In the construction industry, accidents involving work at heights often involve older workers, andIt is possible that approximately 11% of those involved in fatal accidents are 65 or older....is suggested.
If there are a lot of accidents on site, we’ll face suspension of contracts or suspension of operations—so of course we have to avoid those risks!
However, unless we take some measures to address this risk going forward, we will no longer be able to carry out the construction work.
In our slope construction business, we do get a lot of work from major companies.
It seems that the older we get, the more we’ll need to be safety-conscious and use safety equipment when performing construction work!
It seems that skilled foremen (aged 65 and older) need to keep this in mind when dealing with situations on the job site.
Depending on future safety equipment and on-site conditions, it’s inevitable that we’ll have to move forward regardless of age—otherwise, we simply won’t be able to carry out the construction work.
We subcontractors also need to give serious thought to how we can reduce the number of accidents!
See you later.
