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LOF Overview

Line of Fire (LOF) Awareness Campaign Overview

LOF incidents occur when hazardous energy is not adequately controlled and makes contact with a worker, causing harm.

With the right controls in place, even life-threatening (or high-energy) conditions can be managed safely — preventing the kinds of incidents that lead to Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs).

The impacts of LOF incidents to a worker and an organization is dependent upon many factors:

  • The amount of physical energy “fire ” released (energy causes harm, more energy causes more harm)
  • The type and effectiveness of energy controls in place (direct, alternative)
  • Missing direct controls and absent or poorly followed work plans. These are known to uniquely precede SIFs.

New research shows that Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs) are not caused by the same factors as lower-severity injuries. LOF campaign helps municipalities target those specific conditions before harm occurs.

The things that hurt people are not the same as the things that kill people: Key differences in the proximal causes of low- and high-severity construction injuries. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 150(8), 04024089. https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-14545
Bayona, A., Hallowell, M. R., & Bhandari, S. (2024).

This campaign aims to draw awareness to sources of high-energy (STKY hazards) and operational conditions that if present without adequate controls, can lead to Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) incidents and the best practices, tools, and resources available to support their prevention.

Attributions

Attributions

The AMHSA Line of Fire Awareness Campaign is grounded in peer-reviewed research and industry-validated methods aimed at preventing Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs).

This evidence-based methodology developed by Dr. Matthew Hallowell, Construction Research Safety Alliance (CRSA), Safety Leadership Institute (SLI), and Forge Works includes concepts such as:

  • Energy-Based Safety (EBS) including the Energy Wheel concept
  • High Energy Control Assessments (HECA)
  • Human and Organizational Performance (HOP)
  • STKY “S**T That Kills You”
  • Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) Prevention

These concepts reflect new research showing that SIFs have unique, preventable causes. Without a shift toward science-backed factors like direct controls and work planning, our current efforts will remain limited to reducing only low-severity injuries—not fatalities.

Supported through a Creative Sentencing Award from the Government of Alberta, this initiative builds future-facing prevention strategies in response to a tragic LOF incident.

Energy Principles

Energy Principles

Energy-Based Safety (EBS) provides a research-backed lens for recognizing, prioritizing, and controlling hazardous energy—especially in dynamic work environments where even experienced workers will miss things. Easier said than done — studies show that even experienced, highly engaged professionals will on average miss more than half the hazards. Work is dynamic, and all our brains rely on instinctive shortcuts that create blind spots. Thus, these tools are designed to help us work safer by recognizing the limits of human attention and perception.

The Energy Wheel expands what we can see, STKY helps us recognize which hazards cause life-ending event, and principles of HECA helps ensure the right controls are in place—every time. The strength of these tools lies in making high-energy hazards (STKYs) easier to see, less subjective to assess, and more practical to manage in real work conditions:

  • Human brain “blind spots” to hazard recognition
  • Variable worksite conditions
  • Utilized hazard recognition tools and training
  • Highly variable worker judgement
  • Non-evidence based theory use in safety management systems (Incident Triangle, etc.)

Gravity

  • Definition: Force caused by the attraction of mass to the Earth.
  • Example: Uneven work surface, work at height, unsecured materials, overhead support structures
  •  

Motion

  • Definition: Change in the physical position or location of objects or substances.
  • Examples: Traffic, mobile equipment, projectiles, dust particles (HECA)

Mechanical

  • Definition: Working parts of a machine or assembly, including rotation, vibration, tension or compression.
  • Examples: Auger, cable, chain fall, angle grinder, gears, pullies
  •  

Electrical

  • Definition: Presence of electrical charge or current.
  • Examples: Wires, power lines, power tools, extension cords, transformer, relay

Pressure

  • Definition: Liquid or gas compressed or under vacuum.
  • Examples: Pneumatic tire, piping system, tank, hydraulic lines
  •  

Sound

  • Definition: Audible vibration caused by the contact or two or more objects.
  • Examples: Heavy machinery, pile driving, power tools, nail gun

Radiation

  • Definition: Objects or substances that emit electromagnetic waves or subatomic particles.
  • Examples: Welding, sun exposure, X-ray testing, radioactive waste
  •  

Biological

  • Definition: Living organisms or viruses.
  • Examples: Bees, snakes, alligators, bears, restrooms

Chemical

  • Definition: Toxic objects or substances that pose health risks.
  • Examples: Solvents, engine exhaust, silica, wood dust, liquid concrete

Temperature

  • Definition: Intensity of heat in an object or substance.
  • Examples: Friction, engines, sudden pressure change, steam

Energy-Based Safety (EBS) Principles

Determining how "safe" a task is or that of a worksite is highly subjective and variable based upon the judgment of people. To remove qualitative subjectivity and quantify the most likely severity of a hazard, quantitative methods need to be used which follow principles of High Energy Control Assessments (HECA).

Evidence-based tools such as the Safety Function Energy Calculator are used to combat subjectivity and:

  • The amount of physical energy "fire " released (energy causes harm, more energy causes more harm)
  • Identify high-energy (STKY hazards)
  • Prioritize organizational activities to prevent Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) incidents
  • Validate the accuracy of organizational Risk Registries

LOF Awareness Working Group

LOF Awareness Working Group

The LOF Awareness Working Group aims to bring together municipal leaders and subject matter experts to refine and validate SIF prevention strategies including tools and training that are grounded in research and tailored to real work.

Examples of the items the Working Group will refine and validate include:

  • Review of developed Learning objectives
  • Pilot the LOF e-learning course content and provide feedback
  • Refine and validate developed LOF resources
  • Identify any further Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) Prevention strategies

AMHSA has retained the Colorado Construction Safety Laboratory, LLC an Dr. Siddharth Bhandari to act as a SME and guest speaker to support the achievement of the campaign goals.

 Click Here

Resources

Resources

Safety Function

Safety Leadership Institute

Construction Research Safety Alliance (CRSA)

Government of Alberta

      Line of Fire (LOF) Awareness Campaign Overview

      LOF incidents occur when hazardous energy is not adequately controlled and makes contact with a worker, causing harm.

      With the right controls in place, even life-threatening (or high-energy) conditions can be managed safely — preventing the kinds of incidents that lead to Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs).

      The impacts of LOF incidents to a worker and an organization is dependent upon many factors:

      • The amount of physical energy “fire ” released (energy causes harm, more energy causes more harm)
      • The type and effectiveness of energy controls in place (direct, alternative)
      • Missing direct controls and absent or poorly followed work plans. These are known to uniquely precede SIFs.

      New research shows that Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs) are not caused by the same factors as lower-severity injuries. LOF campaign helps municipalities target those specific conditions before harm occurs.

      The things that hurt people are not the same as the things that kill people: Key differences in the proximal causes of low- and high-severity construction injuries. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 150(8), 04024089. https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-14545
      Bayona, A., Hallowell, M. R., & Bhandari, S. (2024).

      This campaign aims to draw awareness to sources of high-energy (STKY hazards) and operational conditions that if present without adequate controls, can lead to Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) incidents and the best practices, tools, and resources available to support their prevention.

      Attributions

      The AMHSA Line of Fire Awareness Campaign is grounded in peer-reviewed research and industry-validated methods aimed at preventing Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs).

      This evidence-based methodology developed by Dr. Matthew Hallowell, Construction Research Safety Alliance (CRSA), Safety Leadership Institute (SLI), and Forge Works includes concepts such as:

      • Energy-Based Safety (EBS) including the Energy Wheel concept
      • High Energy Control Assessments (HECA)
      • Human and Organizational Performance (HOP)
      • STKY “S**T That Kills You”
      • Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) Prevention

      These concepts reflect new research showing that SIFs have unique, preventable causes. Without a shift toward science-backed factors like direct controls and work planning, our current efforts will remain limited to reducing only low-severity injuries—not fatalities.

      Supported through a Creative Sentencing Award from the Government of Alberta, this initiative builds future-facing prevention strategies in response to a tragic LOF incident.

      Energy Principles

      Energy-Based Safety (EBS) provides a research-backed lens for recognizing, prioritizing, and controlling hazardous energy—especially in dynamic work environments where even experienced workers will miss things. Easier said than done — studies show that even experienced, highly engaged professionals will on average miss more than half the hazards. Work is dynamic, and all our brains rely on instinctive shortcuts that create blind spots. Thus, these tools are designed to help us work safer by recognizing the limits of human attention and perception.

      The Energy Wheel expands what we can see, STKY helps us recognize which hazards cause life-ending event, and principles of HECA helps ensure the right controls are in place—every time. The strength of these tools lies in making high-energy hazards (STKYs) easier to see, less subjective to assess, and more practical to manage in real work conditions:

      • Human brain “blind spots” to hazard recognition
      • Variable worksite conditions
      • Utilized hazard recognition tools and training
      • Highly variable worker judgement
      • Non-evidence based theory use in safety management systems (Incident Triangle, etc.)

      Gravity

      • Definition: Force caused by the attraction of mass to the Earth.
      • Example: Uneven work surface, work at height, unsecured materials, overhead support structures

      Motion

      • Definition: Change in the physical position or location of objects or substances.
      • Examples: Traffic, mobile equipment, projectiles, dust particles (HECA)

      Mechanical

      • Definition: Working parts of a machine or assembly, including rotation, vibration, tension or compression.
      • Examples: Auger, cable, chain fall, angle grinder, gears, pullies
      •  

      Electrical

      • Definition: Presence of electrical charge or current.
      • Examples: Wires, power lines, power tools, extension cords, transformer, relay

      Pressure

      • Definition: Liquid or gas compressed or under vacuum.
      • Examples: Pneumatic tire, piping system, tank, hydraulic lines
      •  

      Sound

      • Definition: Audible vibration caused by the contact or two or more objects.
      • Examples: Heavy machinery, pile driving, power tools, nail gun

      Radiation

      • Definition: Objects or substances that emit electromagnetic waves or subatomic particles.
      • Examples: Welding, sun exposure, X-ray testing, radioactive waste
      •  

      Biological

      • Definition: Living organisms or viruses.
      • Examples: Bees, snakes, alligators, bears, restrooms

      Chemical

      • Definition: Toxic objects or substances that pose health risks.
      • Examples: Solvents, engine exhaust, silica, wood dust, liquid concrete

      Temperature

      • Definition: Intensity of heat in an object or substance.
      • Examples: Friction, engines, sudden pressure change, steam

      Energy-Based Safety (EBS) Principles

      Determining how "safe" a task is or that of a worksite is highly subjective and variable based upon the judgment of people. To remove qualitative subjectivity and quantify the most likely severity of a hazard, quantitative methods need to be used which follow principles of High Energy Control Assessments (HECA).

      Evidence-based tools such as the Safety Function Energy Calculator are used to combat subjectivity and:

      • The amount of physical energy "fire " released (energy causes harm, more energy causes more harm)
      • Identify high-energy (STKY hazards)
      • Prioritize organizational activities to prevent Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) incidents
      • Validate the accuracy of organizational Risk Registries

       

      LOF Awareness Working Group

      The LOF Awareness Working Group aims to bring together municipal leaders and subject matter experts to refine and validate SIF prevention strategies including tools and training that are grounded in research and tailored to real work.

      Examples of the items the Working Group will refine and validate include:

      • Review of developed Learning objectives
      • Pilot the LOF e-learning course content and provide feedback
      • Refine and validate developed LOF resources
      • Identify any further Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) Prevention strategies

      AMHSA has retained the Colorado Construction Safety Laboratory, LLC an Dr. Siddharth Bhandari to act as a SME and guest speaker to support the achievement of the campaign goals.

       Click Here

      Resources

      Safety Function

      Safety Leadership Institute

      Construction Research Safety Alliance (CRSA)

      Government of Alberta