Black and Veatch (B&V) released a report recently that detailed how a daily injury-prevention plan can lead to long spans of working construction without having an injury on site.
They state that as part of these plans should emphasize that each worker should be working in a way that promotes safe practices on a daily basis and that it is crucial that near misses and minor incidents should be reported in order for both workers and supervisors to work toward overall improvement.
The company reports that it is usually behavioral or human error that causes an accident resulting in injury and that focus should shift toward that rather than the working conditions of a particular site.
“That’s how successful companies get meaningful information so they can take corrective action,” Ernie Wright, senior vice president of energy at B&V said. “Ninety-five percent of injuries can be tied directly to behaviors and yet, historically, most of our attention is given to conditions. So there’s a need to change and to correct at-risk behaviors. We do this primarily by providing positive recognition of safe behaviors and approaching at-risk behaviors appropriately, with a heartfelt expression of concern for the individuals involved.”
An important factor for these programs to work is that communication between workers and supervisors should be encouraged. Having open communication between all parties allows for necessary reports to come in without fear of negativity. At B&V, they implemented the Employee Involvement Plan that includes peer-to-peer observation, safety checks and positive reinforcement when a safety concern is brought to the attention of a supervisor.
