Read that OSHA says 1 in 10 boilermakers will have a serious injury in their career. That number seems high or low to you?

3 comments

3 Comments

A buddy of mine has been a boilermaker for 25 years and he's had two serious incidents himself... one with a burn and a fall that could've been way worse. That 1 in 10 stat feels about right when you see how many guys end up with busted backs or missing fingers over a career. Best thing you can do is never get comfortable and always double check your gear before you start.

jana_jones28d ago

Haha @hill.margaret that "never get comfortable" line hits home. I told myself that too, then last month I tried to grab a hot pipe without checking if it was cool first. Burnt my palm and felt like a complete idiot lol. It's so easy to slip up even after years of doing this work. The guys who make it to retirement without a major issue must have some kind of superhuman focus or something.

robin59128d ago

That 1 in 10 stat from OSHA actually counts only injuries that require missing work, so the real number is probably higher when you include smaller stuff. @jana_jones your burn story reminds me that most of us will have some kind of incident, even if it doesn't make the official count. The guys who retire clean likely had more luck than superhuman focus.