Safety Culture in the Construction Industry

In a high-hazard industry like construction, safety is an investment
that provides real benefits. A safe work environment helps to keep
skilled employees on the job and projects on track by reducing
accidents that result in injuries and schedule delays, while also
reducing the risks of litigation and regulatory action. A strong
safety record enhances a company’s reputation, makes it more
competitive and helps to manage insurance costs over time.
Fostering a successful safety culture, however, is a company-wide
effort that requires commitment and participation from the chief
executive to project managers, superintendents, foremen and
individual workers on the job site. That commitment should
extend to the selection of subcontractors who also embrace a
strong safety ethic, particularly when a company is using a
construction wrap-up insurance program. 

As any builder knows, projects start well before ground is broken.
Safety should be part of the process right from the very
beginning. In working toward establishing a safer workplace,
construction companies can tap the extensive knowledge of risk
management experts who are well versed in their industry. Project
planners should also work with their insurers to determine the
most effective risk management strategies before a project
begins and while it’s being built. Once a project starts, safety
should be a part of every employee’s job, every day. 



Building a safer workplace

Despite risk control improvements, construction remains a
dangerous business, accounting for the second most fatal work
injuries of any sector after transportation and warehousing, which
have the most fatalities. Although the number of fatalities in the
industry has fallen sharply in recent years, so has employment.
There were 721 fatal work injuries in the private construction
industry in 2011, down nearly 42 percent since 2006.1 The
decline in fatal injuries, however, comes as employment in
construction has fallen by more than 27 percent from its precrisis
high. More than two million fewer people were employed in
construction at year-end 2011 than in April 2006 when
employment hit a seasonally adjusted peak of 7.7 million. 2 The
high number of fatalities that continue to plague the industry is a 

stark reminder that more needs to be done. Construction
represents about five percent of the private sector workforce but
accounts for nearly 16 percent of the fatal injuries.3

In its effort to improve job-site safety, the construction industry
faces some headwinds from economic pressures and longstanding
cultural issues. In a sluggish economy, competition to
win projects has intensified, putting pressure on pricing and
increasing the pressure to get jobs done quickly. But trying to cut
costs by cutting corners with safety is a false saving, as one
accident can far outweigh all of the perceived savings. 

Project planners should also work with their
insurers to determine the most effective risk
management strategies before a project
begins and while it’s being built. 

Culturally, construction remains an industry where workers may
feel that taking risks is a part of the job and may worry about
what their peers think of those who take extra precautions. The
reality is that construction workers are more exposed to
workplace injuries because of the inherent dangers of a job that
often involves working with large machinery and power tools,
often many floors above the ground.

Although compliance with federal, state and local rules and
regulations remains the key concern, the construction industry is
starting to see a shift from strictly compliance-driven safety
programs to those that emphasize the “human side” of safety and
stress the health and welfare of workers.4 By focusing on
eliminating dangers at the construction sites through an approach
that personalizes safety and health, construction executives can
embrace and promote a safety philosophy throughout their
organization. This approach modifies the traditional enforcement 

mentality, which immediately threatens employees who violate
standard safety rules with disciplinary action.
This personal-based safety ideology follows the premise that if
employees are reminded, on a daily basis, of the impact that an
injury can have on their home life and personal relationships they
will be more likely to work safely and avoid risks that could result
in accidents.

Building a safer workplace and industry, requires constant effort
and continual improvement, but the result is well worth the
investment of time, resources and money. Today more
construction companies are retaining a larger portion of the risk
through higher deductibles, and can expect to bear significant
costs for any accident involving bodily injury.6 Delays resulting
from accidents will also prove expensive. To be competitive,
companies need to control all costs, including insurance. Safer
companies tend to be more appealing to potential clients and to
insurers. A proactive safety culture helps to save lives, retain
workers, reduce claims and delays, and enhance productivity and
profitability while strengthening the company’s reputation. 





 

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Here are 12 steps that construction companies can
take to help make the job site safer, keep projects on
track and manage insurance costs. 

Start at the top
Safety on the job site starts in the executive suite. To have a real
impact on workers, safety has to become a core value of the
organization. Chief executives should instill the idea in every level
of management that the responsibility for safety lies with them.
Too often it is shunted off to the on-site safety manager or
corporate safety director. Project executives and managers,
superintendents and foremen should be required to take the
necessary training, such as the OSHA 30 hour certification
course, and they should be well versed in accident investigation,
substance abuse, conflict resolution, pre-job safety planning, loss
analysis and managing subcontractors. Senior executives need to
lead by example taking an active and visible role in the
implementation and execution of the safety culture.

Make safety committees and safety managers a
part of the job

Proactive companies may establish a safety committee
composed of upper management, risk managers, safety directors,
and operational staff to continually discuss and review safety
performance. Ideally, the committee should include labor. By
including craft labor who work on site, managers can get a much
better idea of how safety procedures are being implemented and
how they can continue to improve safety. Bringing labor into the
discussion also reinforces the commitment to safety on a
personal level. 

Companies often staff larger jobs with on-site safety managers,
but they should consider them on smaller projects as well. While it
may add costs up front, an on-site safety manager can potentially
save hundreds of thousands of dollars in claims. But safety efforts
shouldn’t end with the safety manager. The safety manager
should be viewed as a resource to help continually review and
enhance the efforts made by everyone on site. Every person on a
project site is responsible for safety. 

Recognize success, but hold everyone accountable
Accountability must be a core component of the safety culture.
From individual workers to foremen, project supervisors and
executives, everyone needs to be held accountable for safety.
Without accountability, employees may be tempted to cut corners
in an effort to save time and money. When safety programs,
procedures and safe workplace habits are enforced from the top,
field employees take safety seriously. Aggressive safety goals that
are reasonable and attainable should be established yearly.
Management performance reviews should include those results.
Discipline is only part of the process. Companies also should
recognize success such as reaching a certain number of hours
worked without an accident or achieving a full year incident rate
that meets or exceeds the goal. Recognition shows workers that
management values safety and the contribution it makes to the
success of a project and the company

Plan safety into the project
Because every project is built on paper first, safety begins with
pre-planning. The means and methods that will be used to build
the project should be identified, along with the exposures they will
entail. All exposures should be identified and addressed in preplanning,
from excavation to foundation, and superstructure to fit
out. Controls to mitigate the exposures must then be identified
and incorporated into the safety plan. Successful performed
pre-planning allows the project to run un-impeded by minimizing
the potential for accidents that can hamper productivity and
cause schedule delays. Proactive companies make safety preplanning
an integral part of every project.
Before work starts, a project specific safety plan should be
developed to provide an overview of the scope of the work and
the names, roles and responsibilities of key personnel. It should
include a list of local emergency responders and medical facilities;
emergency procedures and evacuation plans; fall management 

and retrieval procedures; substance abuse testing and new
employee orientation. A project specific safety manual that
outlines safety expectations and criteria should be given to each
subcontractor. In addition, subcontractors should be required to
submit their own project specific safety plan to identify the scope
of their work, how the hazards will be mitigated and what
measures they will take to provide a safe work environment. 

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Prequalify subcontractors for safety 

Companies routinely pre-qualify subcontractors for experience,
qualification and financial strength, but safety history and
performance should also be a criteria. To evaluate subcontractor
safety performance, companies should review their experience
modification rates, their Bureau of Labor Statistics recordable
and lost time incident rates, OSHA citation record and their overall
safety culture and procedures. The pre-qualification of
subcontractors should not stop with safety history and
performance. It should include a review of the subcontractor’s
own safety culture and how the company incorporates safety into
its day-to-day operation.
General contractors can enforce across-the-board job site safety
practices for subcontractors through subcontractor agreements
and bid documents. This will ensure that subcontractors are
aware of the safety requirements and expectations in advance.
Subcontractors are responsible for the safety and health of their
employees, but also need to ensure they perform their work in a
manner that protects the general public. Failure to select
subcontractors that implement a proactive safety culture opens
general contractors up to potential liabilities

Train workers for safety
Safety isn’t simply common sense. Workers need to be trained to
properly use a variety of safety equipment, such as fall arrest
systems, and they need to know the appropriate regulations.
Orientation shouldn’t be limited to new hires. The company should
provide orientation specific to each project. The orientation
should include an overview of the project, an in-depth review of
the safety requirements and expectations, evacuation plans and
procedures, disciplinary actions, substance abuse testing policy
and fall management procedures and requirements. 

Communicating to a diverse workforce whose primary language
may not be English is a serious challenge for the industry, which
has a high concentration of immigrant and non-English speaking
workers.7 Where English may not be the commonly understood
language, construction firms need to address the issue of
effectively communicating safety and job expectations. By way of
example, a company with a large number of Spanish-speaking
employees may need to provide training in Spanish so that
workers can thoroughly understand it. The U.S. Department of
Labor cites language barriers in high-risk industries, particularly
construction, as an issue in ensuring workplace safety.8 Across all
industries, 69 percent of Hispanic or Latino workers fatally injured
in 2011 were born outside the United States, with the largest
proportion from Mexico

Focus on fall management
Falls remain a leading cause of injuries and deaths. About 35
percent of the 721 fatal construction industry accidents in 2011
were due to slips and falls - more than three times that of next
highest categories, roadway accidents and being struck by an object
or piece of equipment.10 Simply following OSHA guidelines and
local regulations isn’t enough. Different trades have different
standards, but they all face the same problem: even a fall from a
relatively modest height can result in a serious industry. In 2011,
falls accounted for 541 fatal work injuries across all industries. Of
those cases where the height was known, 57 percent involved falls of
20 feet or less,11 and about one in four were from heights of 10 feet
or less

A successful fall management program provides a uniform set of
procedures for all workers and is an essential part of project
pre-planning. While the regulations may vary, fall prevention
measures should start for everyone at heights of six feet at a
minimum. Companies should strive to build safety in by
addressing fall exposures through engineering controls or
alternative work methods. For instance, anchor points can be
included in structural members during fabrication. Fall
management should be a part of the project pre-planning.13 If it
isn’t addressed ahead of time, the chances are that workers
exposures will be greater. 

A detailed fall management plan should be developed for each
operation where the potential of falls from elevations will be
encountered. No operation should commence without an
approved fall management plan in place. At a minimum, the plan
should address each task where a fall exposure exists; the hazard
associated with the task; and the controls that will be implemented
to mitigate the exposure and the safety training that will be
provided to each worker. The plan should also address retrieval
procedures necessary to rescue workers should a fall occur. 













 

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Combat substance abuse
In a business that may involve complex equipment and significant
heights, companies need to actively combat substance abuse,
which remains a widespread problem in construction. Among 19
major industries, construction had the second highest rate of illicit
drug use at 13.7 percent, behind accommodations and food
service at 16.9 percent.14 In light of this fact, companies should
focus on preventing impaired personnel from working on a site.
Testing may identify workers with substance abuse problems
before they endanger others and enable the company to steer
them into treatment programs. 

Individual workers have a role to play in ensuring their own safety
and that of their co-workers. It’s crucial to build a culture where
fellow workers feel comfortable speaking up if someone is taking
chances. It’s bad enough if an impaired worker injures himself,
worse if he injures other workers and the general public, and
worse still if that accident could have been prevented. 

Evaluate each project phase for safety
Planning for safety is a continual process. As a project progresses,
a job safety task analysis should be performed to make sure that
the appropriate work and safety equipment is on hand so that
workers aren’t tempted to make do with what may be inadequate
equipment or take chances that will endanger their safety. The
analysis should include the specific aspects of the work at hand,
identification of potential exposures, controls to eliminate the
exposures and the necessary safety equipment to perform the
work properly. The analysis should be submitted by the supervisor
before the start of work and reviewed by the project manager or
superintendent along with the supervisor. Supervisors should
review it with the crew beforehand. All subcontractors should
follow this procedure. 

Make safety an everyday topic
Weekly toolbox safety talks are a common way to remind workers
about safety procedures and to address concerns. But safety
should be an everyday topic. When foremen gather workers at the
beginning of a shift to talk about the day’s work, they should
review the hazards involved and the safety controls, and make
sure that the workers have the right protective gear and that all
safety concerns are addressed. If the job changes during the day,
construction managers or contractors should review the changes
in terms of safety. Weekly meetings with superintendents and
subcontractor field management personnel to discuss
production-related topics should include a review of any
accidents, near misses or safety lapses as well as safety issues
related to the coming work.

Regular, planned field safety inspections can help solve a host of
issues while also improving safety. Regular inspections are
probably the most effective management tool for dealing with the
basic root causes of accidents, such as worn equipment,
misplaced tools or equipment or unsafe actions by workers. 

Review accidents and near misses
Companies should start with the mindset that accidents are not
inevitable. In the event that there is an accident, the facts and
circumstances should be reviewed to identify root causes so that
corrective action can be taken and future incidents can be
prevented. The same attention should be paid to near misses that
had the potential to become serious accidents. Regular accident
review meetings between field managers and executives send a
clear message that safety should be paramount. 

To help manage safety, each project executive should be provided
detailed loss runs and claim information. Project executives
should participate in claims review meetings with insurers to get
first-hand information on the claims in their projects. This helps to
make sure the project manager understands the financial
implications associated with accidents on the projects as well as
the impact on the company’s insurance costs. 

Work with your insurer and risk management experts
Proactive companies take a collaborative approach to safety with
risk management experts and their insurers at every step of the
project. Companies should look to their insurers as a resource
with substantive expertise in risk management, engineering
protocols and procedures to help make their own safety efforts
even more robust. Risk engineers may bring a new set of eyes to a
project and can help identify issues that may be overlooked. This
may occur because the company is focusing on major hazards
and overlooking lesser ones. An insurer can bring insights learned
from different industries and different regions of the country.
They can identify best practices for projects in different areas and
expand on best practices which might be considered.

Regular inspections are probably the
most effective management tool for
dealing with the basic root causes of
accidents, such as worn equipment,
misplaced tools or equipment or unsafe
actions by workers.

Insurers should be looked on to assess risk in projects and in the
company’s ongoing operations. To find the right carrier,
construction companies should look for insurers with deep
expertise in their industry as well as recognized financial strength.
As part of an overall program, by working with their insurers,
construction companies can save lives, reduce accidents and
lower the costs associated with injuries and delays. A strong
safety culture helps to manage not only insurance costs but also
the expenses a company would have to bear itself. 

Toward zero injuries
When a construction company succeeds in building a strong
culture of safety, it becomes a core value for every employee. A
strong safety culture burnishes the company’s reputation, which is
one of the most valuable assets for any business, and plays an
essential role in its long-term success. A safer company suffers
fewer losses, enjoys lower costs, becomes a more competitive
bidder and makes it more attractive to potential clients and
insurers. But safety is a job that never ends. The construction
industry is always adopting new methods, new equipment and
new machinery. Safety has to continually adapt to the new ways
that workers are performing their jobs. At the end of the day, every
company wants every worker to go home safe at night. The
ultimate goal should be zero injuries.
By partnering with the right insurer, companies can move closer
to that goal. 

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