Do you set rules, draft safety policy books that gather dust, and still expect to build a culture of safety? More than any rules, building a safety culture is a mindset and it can’t be achieved by developing policies alone. From top management to interns, from the on-site teams to off-site workers, building a safety culture demands dedication from every individual in your organization.  

But how do you go about building a culture of safety from the ground up? And how do you establish a robust safety management system and ensure that everyone in the organization follows it?  

With numerous accidents and injuries reported each year due to poor safety management in the construction industry, given the impact it has on the workers and their lives, ensuring safety isn’t just a legal obligation anymore. A robust safety management system enhances productivity, protects workers, and ensures seamless project deliveries.  

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Understanding construction safety management

Safety culture is the shared beliefs, practices, and the way safety is perceived at each level of the company. ~ OSHA

Construction safety management goes beyond regulations and includes critical components such as risk assessment, safety training, incident reporting, and compliance monitoring.

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The benefits of a strong safety culture

A robust safety culture leads to fewer accidents, higher employee morale, and increased productivity. Companies with strong safety management systems in place often experience lower insurance costs and improved compliance with regulations.  

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The key elements of an effective safety management system

1. Get buy-in from leadership

2. Identify hazards and assess risks

3. Develop clear safety policies and procedures  

4. Empower employees to take ownership

5. Lead by example

6. Provide comprehensive safety training  

7. Continuously monitor and regularly audit

Creating a positive safety culture isn’t easy but here’s how implementing a strong safety culture looks like.  

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1. Get buy-in from leadership

Securing buy-ins from your leadership team should be the first step in building a safety culture. Your managers and C-suite executives need to be fully aware of what it takes to build a strong culture of safety. They should be committed to contributing the necessary resources and be able to walk the talk by demonstrating their commitment through every action, every single day.  

To get this rolling, here’s what you need to do

• Explain how imbibing a safety culture helps in reduced costs, improved productivity, and better outcomes for the business

• Share data on the impacts poor safety management systems cause

• Include them in your safety management meetings and get their inputs

• Make safety a part of weekly/monthly performance reviews and monitor metrics

2. Identify hazards and assess risks

Before you even start to build your safety management system, you’d first need to understand the hazards and risks caused in your workplace. You can’t protect or take action without knowing the root cause. Hence, conduct a thorough hazard identification and risk assessment to find potential dangers and prioritize the threats based on the impact and risk matrix.  

To do this, you’ll have to  

• Conduct detailed walkthroughs and inspections of the facility  

• Review injury and incident records for meticulous details

• Talk to the employees about their safety concerns

• Evaluate job hazard analyses and activity hazard assessments

3. Develop clear safety policies and procedures

When you have the leadership buy-in and clarity on the risks, it’ll be easier for you to develop construction safety management policies and procedures. These policy books and guidelines should be well-researched, documented, and communicated to every employee, making them accessible to all in the organization.  

Construction safety policies should include topics like  

• Best practices for safe work for specific tasks

• Equipment to be used for safety for a particular task

• Personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements

• Hazardous material handling and storage

• Incident reporting and investigation

4. Empower employees to take ownership

Irrespective of the levels and hierarchies, encourage employee engagement and ownership in your organization. Empowering your workers and promoting transparency will make them feel safe, contribute to safety policies, and this will be a strong foundation for building a safety culture.  

Here’s how you can empower your workers

• Establish a committee exclusively for safety and have representatives

• Provide regular training on hazard recognition and control measures

• Create an anonymous reporting system for safety issues

• Acknowledge and reward employees who practice safety policies

• Ensure that retaliation doesn’t exist for reporting safety issues.  

5. Lead by example

If you want to establish a strong and robust safety management system in your org with a safety culture imbibed in it, you must work from the roots. You, your managers, your supervisors, and everyone in the field and off the field, need to model the behavior and walk the walk, if you wish to see it in every individual of the company.  

This means, you will have to

• Always follow safety rules and procedures

• Wear the required PPE all the time

• Stop the work immediately if it’s unsafe at some point in time

• Discussing safety norms often during meetings and toolbox talks

• Recognizing and motivating employees for demonstrating safe actions

6. Provide comprehensive safety training

Training isn’t a one-time activity that you do during the onboarding process. With time and tech advancements, it evolves, and you need to equip your employees with the latest knowledge and required skills they need to work safely in the field. It’s a recurring ongoing process that you need to make available for your workers.  

Some of the best practices for safety training include

• Custom training based on specific hazard and tasks required in your workplace  

• Use various methods and keep it hands-on

• Use language that’s widely spoken and easily understandable

• Include inductions on a regular basis for re-iterating the norms

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the training based on some metrics and work on improvements.  

7. Continuous monitoring and regular auditing

Evaluate the effectiveness of your safety culture frequently, monitor the KPIs, and work on improvements. Conduct regular safety audits and ensure that safety practices are being followed. Leverage data and identify areas of improvement.  

Some key metrics that you need to look out for include

• Lagging indicators like injury rates, lost workdays, and worker’s comp costs

• Leading indicators like safety observations, near-miss reports, and training completion rate.  

• Employee engagement and contribution metrics including participation and training.  

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Final thoughts

Building a culture of safety and implementing an effective construction safety management system from the ground up will help you protect your workforce and ensure excellent project outcomes. By integrating technology, engaging workers, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, you can create a safer and more productive work environment.  

If you wish to get more info on safety culture and want to see how it benefits your company, contact us today!

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