Safety: Key To The Construction Industry’S Future

SAFETY: KEY TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY’S FUTURE

by Janine Reid

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction was responsible for 1,264 deaths in 2001. This figure represented nearly one-fifth of all workplace fatalities in the country, despite the fact that construction employed only 6.6% of the work force

There’s a growing acknowledgement that the industry’s safety ranking must change for construction to thrive in the coming decades. From a bottom-line perspective, safety is good business, saving life and limb as well as money. Ensuring a safe workforce will also help the industry to attract and retain the workers that it so desperately needs to meet current and future demand.

Accidents are an expensive business. When a company has an accident, it typically turns to its insurers to pick up the losses, much of which cannot be recovered. An accident increases the company’s General Liability and Workers Compensation premiums, as well as expenses for lawyers and other personnel brought in to investigate the mishap. Other costs include reduced productivity and diminished morale resulting from the incident, disruption of project work schedules, and other fees such as OSHA fines. What’s more, a company that suffers an accident often comes under media scrutiny, leading to a loss of reputation that can be difficult — if not impossible — to repair.

Another often overlooked facet of the safety issue is its impact on the industry’s attrition rate and ability to attract the new workers required to meet current and projected needs. With the average age of workers nearly 50 in some crafts, and the Department of Labor predicting that construction will create some 500,000 new jobs by 2008, it’s clear that the construction industry must become more appealing. Although worker attrition is problematic for all industries, it’s a particular concern in construction. The industry historically has had trouble attracting and retaining good workers due partly to its negative image as a dirty and dangerous occupation. Ironically, the high attrition rate, which is due partly to unsafe working conditions, perpetuates itself because newer workers on a job site are more susceptible to accidents.

After working in the industry for 25 years, I’ve met many safety professionals and have heard the phrase 'the accident was avoidable' countless times. About a year ago, I had an idea I believed could contribute to the safety effort. I published a book of proven safety ideas that would, if implemented, save lives on construction job sites, while honoring those who place safety as their primary corporate value. The book, titled Saving Lives! Proven Methods to Eliminate Job-Site Fatalities, is a compilation of 89 ideas on safety from 80 professionals.*

A number of the contributors are from the Colorado area, a region that’s blessed with talented and hard working individuals committed to ensuring workers’ safety and well being. I hope that this book will contribute to the industry’s campaign to reduce the fatality and injury rate — thus removing construction from the annual list of high-risk occupations.