In my last blog, I pointed out that any organization could implement a safety culture providing that management made the necessary commitment.

For construction companies, safety comes down to minimizing injuries on construction sites.  If injuries can be minimized, then the next step is figure  out how injuries can be eliminated.  Therefore, we have the “zero injury” concept where the goal is eliminating all injuries.

At first glance, the natural reaction is that no one can predict what will or will not happen on construction sites.   People are unpredictable, therefore no one can foresee an event that might result in personal injury.

However, once the type of work activities that result in personal injury are identified, then ”predicting” potential injuries becomes a process of elimination.  We begin the process with Job Hazard Analysis.

Any work activity can be broken down into its component parts.  Therefore, each work activity contains elements that contribute to potential injury during the performance of that task.  The idea here is once the hazardous elements are identified, then training or re-training employees to avoid those elements can be accomplished.

I worked with an industrial engineer years ago and he taught me basic time and motion study.  Using this knowledge enabled me to analyze work activities and determine both the most efficient and safe way to perform a task.  A Job Hazard Analysis is nothing more than a very simplified version of a time and motion study.

Most construction workers are not properly trained to do their jobs safely and efficiently.  I see an enormous amount of wasted time and effort on construction sites.  This lack of training has a direct correlation to poor job performance and results in unnecessary injuries.

Construction companies could dramatically improve the quality of their projects and virtually eliminate injuries by taking a hard look at employee training and determine what kind of training is needed.  Safely performing a task should be a part of any job training offered to employees.