Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Program

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Summary Statement

This Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Program flyer contains information about FACE Programs as well as materials available to keep workers safe on the job.
2017

Employers, Safety Professionals, and Workers:

Report information: 600+
NIOSH FACE reports
1,900+
State FACE reports. Reports include:
• A description of the incident
with all personal and employer
information removed
• Factors that contributed to the incident
• Recommendations to prevent
similar deaths.

Photos of workers

Each day about 13 workers die on the job from traumatic injury. In an effort to address these deaths, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program and State FACE Programs study fatal workplace injuries and prepare reports with recommendations to prevent similar deaths. This flyer contains information about the Programs as well as materials available to keep workers safe on the job.

What is the NIOSH FACE Program?

The FACE Program is a national research program that aims to prevent job-related injuries and deaths by:

  • Investigating selected fatalities
  • Identifying hazards
  • Developing workplace prevention recommendations
  • Sharing recommendations with employers, safety professionals, and workers

What are the State FACE Programs?

How are reports conducted? Investigators travel to the
location where a death
occurred to examine the
worksite and collect facts
about what happened
before, during, and after
the incident.
Investigators talk with
company officials,
witnesses, and workers
to learn about the work
environment and victim.
The investigators analyze
the collected information,
then prepare a report.
The report is given to the
company where the victim
was employed and posted to
the NIOSH website so others
can use it for prevention
activities, training, and
education purposes.Through federal funding, state health and labor departments participate in the FACE Program. The State FACE Programs monitor worker deaths, conduct targeted investigations, and recommend prevention activities at the state level using the NIOSH FACE Program model. Current participating states include: California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Washington. Other states participated in past years.

The NIOSH and State FACE Programs have investigated deaths associated with: confined spaces, electrocutions, machinery, falls from elevation, logging, energy production, young workers, foreign-born workers, and other selected fatalities.

Who are the NIOSH FACE and State FACE Program investigators?

FACE investigators are safety professionals, engineers, or industrial hygienists with training and experience in identifying workplace hazards and developing recommendations to reduce the risk of injury and death.

FACE investigators do not enforce compliance with State or Federal job safety and health standards, nor do they place blame or determine the fault for a workplace death. Investigators will not ask family members for an interview as part of their investigation, but will share information and findings upon request.

How do the NIOSH FACE and State FACE Programs conduct investigations?

Investigators travel to the location where a death occurred to examine the worksite and collect facts about what happened before, during, and after the incident. Investigators talk with company officials, witnesses, and workers to learn about the work environment and victim. The investigators analyze the collected information, then prepare a report. The report is given to the company where the victim was employed and posted to the NIOSH website so others can use it for prevention activities, training, and education purposes.

What other materials are available to keep workers safe?

NIOSH Alerts present new information about workplace hazards that contributed to injuries and deaths as well as ways to prevent and control these hazards.

Workplace Solutions provide practical information on ways to prevent injuries and deaths on the worksite.

To see these materials and other publications visit: www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/othpubs.html

Visit the NIOSH website for
FACE and State FACE reports.
www.cdc.gov/niosh/face
Search reports by industry, cause,
population, or the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. NIOSH face and state FACE reports published from Michigan, Washington, Oregon, California, New York, Massachusetts and Kentucky


To receive documents or other information about occupational safety and health topics, contact NIOSH:

Telephone: 1–800–CDC–INFO (1–800–232–4636)
TTY: 1–888–232–6348
CDC INFO: www.cdc.gov/info or visit the NIOSH website at www.cdc.gov/niosh.

For a monthly update on news at NIOSH, subscribe to NIOSH eNews by visiting www.cdc.gov/niosh/eNews.

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2017–145
May 2017
Supersedes 2016-113 www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2016-113/

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SAFER · HEALTHIER · PEOPLE™

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