Building a Culture of Safety: Leadership’s Role in Construction Site Protection

In 2021, there were 1,069 deaths recorded in the construction industry, accounting for 21% of all deaths among US workers. As one of the most dangerous and fatal industries, establishing robust safety protocols on construction sites has become a must. 

It is an employer’s duty of care to provide a safe workplace for their employees. So, not only is a company’s leadership responsible for ensuring safety, but they are also the most influential when it comes to enforcing construction site safety protocols and culture.

How can the leadership of a company create and implement effective strategies for construction site protection? Keep on reading to find out about the actionable steps you can take to keep your workers happy and healthy at work.

Why Safety Culture Matters in Construction

Having a safety culture at a construction site is known to decrease injury rates by improving safety performance. However, this culture isn’t just about protocols and procedures. It is also about the way each and every worker, including supervisors, thinks and acts about safety. 

A culture of safety is about the shared values and practices that prioritize health and safety on construction sites. From operating heavy machinery to working at a height, the construction industry faces many unique challenges in ensuring safety.

However, there is a reason why fatalities and injury rates are down from even a decade ago. New protocols and trainings help create a safety culture that can improve the morale and productivity of workers. Creating a safety culture simply works. How your company’s leadership can create and foster such a culture will

determine how successful it will be. 

Key Leadership Strategies for Construction Site Safety

While unions exist, workers still need a united voice of reason that will guide them through safe procedures. Your leadership has the power to create the policies and instill a culture of safety into your workforce. 

Creating a culture of safety where everyone prioritizes safe procedures isn’t easy. It will take time and effort, but it will result in a positive outcome over the long-term. Let’s talk about the “how.”

Establishing clear policies and protocols

First things first, you’ll need to create or update your safety policies to be comprehensive and tailored to the specific risks of your construction site. It’s important to make sure that these guidelines are:

• Accessible to all employees

• Updated on a regular basis

• Taught and reinforced during regular training sessions

Of course, best practices already exist but it will be up to you to take into account the specific risks your workers face and the specific gear they use to stay safe. 

Setting Safety as a Core Value

It’s no secret that safety starts at the top. Leaders are called leaders for a reason, and it is their responsibility to treat safety as a non-negotiable priority. Their claims will set the tone for the entire organization.

Leaders aren’t only the people at the very top. Your managers and supervisors also need to take the responsibility to communicate how important safety is to everyone else. Every worker on-site needs to know that safety comes first.

Leading by example

Words aren’t enough to instill a culture of safety at your construction site. You also need to actively show your commitment to safety in the hopes of inspiring your teams to do the same. This means that you and your managers have to:

• Follow all safety protocols on construction sites

• Wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

• Participate in safety drills and trainings

• Openly communicate about safety and its importance

Your workers are way more likely to accept and adopt safety practices if they see a supervisor using them consistently.

Hosting Regular Safety Trainings

Training gives your workers the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe at the construction site. This is not a one-off procedure. Instead, it is a process that builds the safety culture in your workforce brick by brick.

As a leader, you need to schedule ongoing training sessions to cover both general safety procedures and hazards that are site-specific. Keeping these sessions interesting and maybe even fun can help with information retention.

Implementing Safety Technology

New technologies are being built every day. They are revolutionizing construction site safety with tools like:

• Wearable devices that measure the temperature, heart rate, and other signs of a worker

• IoT sensors that determine possible accident risks

• Real-time monitoring systems that identify and stop risks before they become fatal incidents

The leaders of a company are responsible for researching, evaluating, and implementing these innovations into construction sites to make them safer places. We recommend especially investing in safety measures for OSHA’s Fatal Four, including falls, electrocution, caught in-between, and struck-by accident risks.

Encouraging Open Communication

Lastly, once all is said and done, once all procedures and technologies are in place, the last piece of the puzzle in building a culture of safety is about open communication. 

You must create an environment where your employees feel proud to report hazards or near-misses instead of fearing retaliation. There are many ways you can encourage this dialogue, including:

• Enforcing anonymous reporting systems

• Hosting feedback sessions

• Taking all concerns seriously and responding quickly

By being transparent about safety, your leadership can build trust with all employees and make sure that potential risks aren’t being ignored or swept under the rug.

Conclusion

The leadership of a company is the creator of a safety culture, especially in a high-risk industry like construction. From creating clear guidelines and procedures to implementing innovative tech and leading by example, leaders hold the safety and productivity of a construction site in the palm of their hands.

Having a strong safety culture at work isn’t just about complying with the rules – it's about protecting lives, boosting the morale of employees, and making sure construction projects reach a successful end.

As leaders of a construction site or company, you must start taking proactive steps in building a culture of safety, prioritizing safe procedures, and keeping your workers informed about safety practices through regular training sessions.