By Mark Paterson, senior risk manager at QBE
The construction industry employs 5 per cent of workers in the UK yet accounts for 31 per cent of all workplace fatalities, the highest of all industry sectors. With “Target Zero” being the industry’s ultimate goal and employees and managers required to be familiar with the law and their own organisation’s policies, why is there still a problem?
Part of the issue is an over-reliance on individuals’ behaviour on site and if workers are flouting safety procedures themselves or failing to report the failings of others, the problem continues to grow. There are three main behaviours that can have a serious effect on site safety and turning them from a negative to a positive is not complex but does require commitment from senior management.
One of the key contributors to accidents at work is complacency. Low risk, repetitive tasks contribute to a large percentage of work-based incidents. For familiar and/or simple tasks workers’ risk perception is reduced and as a result an “it will never happen to me” attitude can prevail. This can lead to the most severe injuries.
What employers can do:
Construction sites often have many workers, trades and companies working alongside one another. This poses a significant challenge with regard to worker safety. Silo mentality, rivalry and mistrust can all present themselves through negative worker behaviours, with people focusing only on their designated tasks and refusing to take a holistic view of the overall work environment.
What employers can do:
The critical success factors in creating a safety culture are the confidence and capability for individuals not only to look after themselves but also their workmates. Individuals who are willing to challenge unsafe acts are the drivers of a robust and enduring safety culture.
What employers can do:
For more information on behavioural safety and other health and safety challenges for the Construction sector, download QBE’s Protecting Employees on site guide.
Mark Paterson, senior risk manager, QBE
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I agree that any safety initiatives relay on the committment os senior management but, therein lies the problem. The notion of whistle blowing as a means of improving site safety is goos as far as it goes, it just will not happen at the lower levels. Most supervisors and front line managers do their utmost to conceal unsafe acts and conditions. Finally, whilst many accidents/incidents occur due to human error, this masks the underlying reasons, in my experience poor planning, lack of resources, poor supervision and so on are the true causal factors.
great article, thank you for sharing such great ideas. I would love postings like this on my EHS Community boards for our members to think over and discuss. What I have found over my years of in field experiences is; we as EHS Professional need to champion safety not only with our site workers but also with other Department and Division Heads throughout the company. So many times I would hear a Division Head asking for something to be done that was counter to H&S best practices, just to get their deliverable on-time, or make the numbers work for their… Read more »
great post Ray!
Really interesting post,
I completely agree with the fact there is an over-reliance on individuals’ behaviour on site and if workers are flouting safety procedures themselves or failing to report the failings of others, the problem continues to grow. I can’t help but think these organisations are delegating the correct safety procedures and training that is needed within the safety construction industry. These companies need to step up and implement or even re-do the safety programmes, in order to avoid any accidents.