Safety is foundational to construction. However, with all the focus on budgets, timelines, and processes, it may feel like safety doesn’t always come first. Yet it can affect all aspects of a construction project, from team morale and client satisfaction to profitability and growth.
Most importantly:
Safety is about people going home as they arrived.
There's always room for improvement when something is this vital to the construction industry. The construction sector is constantly evolving, so your safety programs should be anything but stagnant.
This article will provide insights into the state of construction safety and why scaling safety programs is more important than ever. We’ll also discuss key strategies for improving construction safety and setting up your team and future projects for a safer, better result.
Construction is a high-hazard industry. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nearly 1 in 5 workplace deaths happens in the construction sector, and our industry is responsible for 46.2% of all fatal falls, slips, and trips. Stats from the BLS also show that construction laborers have twice the injury rate compared to all other occupations.
What factors cause injuries and fatalities in construction? OSHA considers the following “fatal four” as the top hazards:
These top hazards can come up at any time, including while:
The good news is that incidents related to these construction hazards are preventable. Starting with small, repeatable wins alongside safety training, Safety Professionals can scale safety programs to remove hazards before they become incidents. (We’ll dive into these in more detail later.)
Injuries and fatalities in the workplace go a whole lot deeper than facts and figures, as their effects can ripple through the organization and the community. Safety incidents majorly impact families, friends, and colleagues and leave a lasting emotional and mental health toll on all those connected to the victim.
"We start running into safety issues on the jobsite where people are not quite as sharp as they used to be. And now we have increased accidents or near misses," said Mark Dyke, a tenured professor of Construction Technology & Management at Ferris State University, on a recent episode of our Digital Builder podcast.
On the project and cost management side, safety incidents drastically impact schedules and budgets. They can lead to work stoppages, legal complications, increased insurance costs, not to mention the potential for significant delays. At the same time, investigations are conducted, and, most of all, the emotional and mental toll of being a part of the project.
All this is to say that construction safety isn’t just about reducing safety incidents. In addition to keeping the job sites on track and hazard-free, a strong safety program promotes better emotional and mental health while keeping projects running smoothly.
On top of significant hazards, managing safety on site is difficult daily for several reasons.
Every jobsite and project is different, so you can’t implement a one-size-fits-all program for all your projects. General guidelines and processes are a must, but in some cases, firms must craft safety measures to fit the specific needs of a project or construction site.
This means implementing safety training frequently and ensuring teams adapt to various conditions while staying consistent with general safety protocols.
Implementing robust and consistent safety procedures is challenging if stakeholders aren’t on the same page regarding schedules and work plans. Teams should always be in sync to ensure that timelines and tasks are transparent and effectively communicated.
That way, everyone involved can coordinate their efforts more efficiently, minimizing risks and misunderstandings.
Safety problems can arise from any variable, including weather, equipment malfunctions, and project changes. All incidents need to be documented and remedied quickly for your programs to be effective.
In addition, continuous safety training and awareness campaigns are essential, so teams remain vigilant and always stay on their toes.
Focusing too much on the financial impact can lead to underreporting or misrecording injuries. This not only skews safety records but can also prevent underlying trends, which could lead to recurring incidents, more injuries, and long-term costs.
These daily challenges and fatal hazards are compounded by three significant trends impacting construction today.
The first trend is the increasing demand for new construction. Deloitte estimates a boost in construction associated with manufacturing, transportation, and clean energy infrastructure, thanks partly to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This demand is driving the need for 342,000 new workers in 2024.
Isn’t more work a good thing?
While a boom in construction spending and demand certainly has positive outcomes, it can also create construction safety issues, given that the industry is grappling with workforce shortages.
Fewer people are on the jobsite, and these teams are asked to do more, work longer hours, and often under increased pressure to meet tight deadlines. This leads to a higher risk for fatigue and injury, further exacerbating safety concerns and the potential for accidents on site.
The second trend is a widening gap in experience as seasoned workers leave the industry. This has led to a critical need for more safety expertise.
According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), experienced workers leave due to life choices, retirement, and new opportunities. With their departure, they lose their learned expertise, innate knowledge, and practical know-how.
Construction teams need help to backfill these positions. Deloitte’s research shows an 8% decrease in workers aged 25 and 54 over the last ten years, which means the industry is facing a significant challenge in replacing experienced workers.
The reasons for fewer people entering the construction workforce are complex and range from outdated perceptions about the industry to a need for more awareness in trades as viable career paths.
The solutions are even more complex and will take time to implement. In the US, becoming a journeyperson can take one to three years—the starting point for most experienced and trained trade professionals. After that, tests, certifications, and additional on-the-job experience are required for any specialist roles or career advancement.
The system is strained, and there is a critical need for more safety expertise.
The third trend is environmental extremes. Depending on their location, crews can be exposed to poor weather conditions that lead to dehydration, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and more. Such environments also create slip-and-fall hazards, contributing to the potential for injury, even in routine work.
Construction professionals face challenges, but there’s also some good news: safety in construction is improving.
According to the BLS, recordable injuries and illnesses in construction have dropped by 4,500 over the last few years, coupled with a 3.7% decrease in construction fatalities.
So, how can we keep improving?
Start by recognizing that improvements in construction can’t happen in a vacuum. Leveling up your safety practices requires a comprehensive, research-based approach informed by data and enforced by safety professionals.
In other words, you need to create a formal construction safety program.
Construction safety programs are structured systems and protocols designed to manage and improve health and safety on construction sites. These initiatives aim to eliminate or substitute hazards to create a safer working environment for everyone.
The best safety programs are backed by data. Safety leaders and managers should use analytics around ongoing incidents, compliance rates, and environmental concerns to inform their workflows and ensure continuous improvement.
These programs are also centered around certificates, training, and enforcement, which push companies to take steps toward safer jobsites.
Safety programs are built on a hierarchical framework. Imagine an inverted pyramid, with the most effective components at the top and the least effective parts at the bottom.
When it comes to safety programs, the hierarchy of control measures is as follows:
Elimination sits at the top, and it’s all about completely eliminating injury-causing hazards. For example, you could use automation or high tech equipment for high-risk tasks like lifting heavy materials to remove the risk of strain injuries.
Substitution means replacing a physical hazard with something less likely to cause injury. On the jobsite, this could mean replacing a ladder with scaffolding.
Engineering controls are the last line of proactive action against hazards. They involve creating physical modifications to separate the worker from the hazard. For instance, you could install guardrails and safety nets to prevent injuries from falls.
Administrative controls are policies designed to change how work is performed and aim to minimize exposure to hazards. One example is rotating workers and scheduling work to reduce exposure to extreme weather conditions.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the least preferred method when other measures cannot fully mitigate the risk. It serves as a final barrier between the worker and the hazards, such as using gloves, hard hats, and safety glasses to provide individual protection.
Implementing a safety program is a worthwhile investment that can drive value. Consider the following.
Reducing safety incidents means there’s less likelihood of project delays. Everyone can focus on delivering projects successfully when you and your teams aren’t stressed about safety.
What’s more, improving your safety record enhances your firm’s reputation and stakeholder engagement, which leads to higher win rates.
A robust safety program fosters a more meticulous work environment, which enhances project quality. Workers are more likely to adhere to best practices and protocols, which minimizes errors and issues that lead to rework later.
Additionally, a stronger focus on safety can lead to better project planning. Safety measures often require thorough reviews and preparation so sites experience smoother operations and fewer delays.
Improving your safety procedures can help you save money through lower insurance premiums and injury claims, in addition to avoiding the direct costs associated with addressing safety incidents.
A great construction safety program can also protect you from liabilities and expensive litigation, safeguarding your financial resources and reputation.
Running a great construction safety program involves optimizing your schedule and ensuring only necessary personnel are on-site. Enhanced safety measures lead to better schedule control and more accurate forecasting.
With a tight safety program, you can prevent unforeseen delays to injuries, which means your projects progress efficiently and within the projected timelines.
Construction safety programs elevate team culture by promoting a shared commitment to safety awareness and education. A strong safety culture prioritizes the team’s well-being and health and fosters a sense of unity and responsibility among team members.
Communication and collaboration are fundamental to building a safe company culture. The safest construction companies aim to create strong practices around documentation and control, typically by collaborating within a common data environment (CDE) that enables the whole team to access up-to-date information when needed.
A CDE creates a single source of truth for all things related to the project and the safety program. This can include safety reports, certifications, meeting notes, and more.
Why is this important? For one, missing information and data can create hazards on a jobsite, and strong documentation practices reduce that risk. More information gives everyone a better understanding of what’s happening, so teams are always prepared for the day and throughout the project.
For example, when folks can easily access project schedules and plans, they can better handle emerging challenges. Meanwhile, daily reports and weather conditions help teams anticipate and mitigate potential delays or hazards.
Filling out construction reports and completing project checklists, whether for construction safety or quality inspections, can often be tedious. A typical OSHA safety checklist can include over 500 items on just one list. However, project management tools can make navigating these arduous checklists easier and faster. When selecting and setting up software to simplify these processes, remember to:
Looking for easy safety forms and checklists? Download our toolkit.
Many of the safest construction companies have an organization-wide understanding of and enthusiasm for safety programs. This means that every employee knows the company's safety protocols and how they work. Safety is fully ingrained into the culture at these companies, and employees know that safety is a big part of their jobs.
One thing to remember is that this means prioritizing safety over efficiency—something that can be difficult to do. Instead of putting deadlines and budgets first, companies should always encourage employees to prioritize safety. This concept should also extend to a company’s partners, who should be vetted and trained to optimize construction safety.
Employees and project stakeholders must feel secure and confident that company leadership has their backs for them to feel safe on a construction project and participate in safety initiatives, including reporting incidents and voicing their opinions.
In other words, companies must build trust and relationships among team members to do their part and look out for the rest of the team.
A high-trust environment also improves mental health, another strong component of construction safety. Teams that aren’t stressed and burnt out are less likely to be involved in incidents.
Remember that some of the top signs of burnout include exhaustion and a lack of focus, which contribute to safety issues.
Crafting a construction safety program with mental health in mind is essential. Your safety program should include measures to reduce stress while fostering open communication about mental well-being.
With collaboration technology, ensure the whole team is on the same page. When everyone uses the same technology, it’s much easier to capture critical safety data that can help prevent issues.
When considering new safety innovations, choose the solutions with the highest ROI that won’t add additional risks to implement. Implementing certain technologies may also lower your insurance premiums.
Safety gear is a critical component of a safe jobsite, including protection for the head, hands, feet, back, eyes, ears, body, and whatever else the job function or task could affect. This also includes PPE that not only functions but fits well. For example, women often have no choice but to wear ill-fitting gear designed for men on a jobsite, which can impede their movement and make them both less effective at their jobs and more likely to experience a mishap. Women should have to fit their needs on a project.
It’s also essential to conduct regular PPE inspections and refreshes, including training employees on how and when to use it year after year.
Investigating construction incidents after they occur is no longer enough. You must use a proactive approach to predict issues before they happen. Luckily, that’s not as impossible as it seems, as researchers are already analyzing workplace health and jobsite safety data–required by law from every company employing more than ten people–and compiling it into meaningful messaging for building organizations. Some of this research shows that we can predict injuries at rates of almost 100% just by monitoring and analyzing jobsite data.
To get these critical insights, companies must create their system for gathering, collating, and assessing data. This requires consistent reports and inspections of existing work conditions, near-miss reports, and incident reports. Moreover, by setting up standards to define, benchmark, and measure data, you can move toward a predictive jobsite safety model.
The field of predictive analytics is also on the leading edge of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. These capabilities from solutions like Construction IQ are being leveraged more extensively to improve safety conditions and project inspections.
There are a number of resources available to help make your next construction project the safest it can be.
From improving communication and transparency and building safety into your culture to choosing the right tools and investing in your staff, there are several things you can do to improve construction safety, starting today. Make construction safety a priority by taking the steps to make it the best for your company and your team.
