Workplace Safety Climate Surveys for City Center and Cosmopolitan Construction Projects, Las Vegas, Nevada (Final Report)

Contents

Acknowledgments
Detailed contents of the Final Report
A. Introduction
B. Methods
C. Results

1. Construction Workers
2. Foreman
3. Superintendents
4. Executives
5. Comparison of 4 groups

D. Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendices
References

D. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

The results of the safety climate surveys reveal the factors that best predict workers' safety performance from different organizational levels. These results suggest several areas for improvement and/or management attention.

Based on the above prediction models of the four surveys, positive Perini's safety climate, Perini and subcontractor safety programs, safety practices, and foreman safety management, as well as quality toolbox talks are, overall, consistently associated with an increase of safety performance. The results also revealed that there were discrepant perceptions about safety issues between the four organizational levels, and the two job sites.

The above findings are consistent with a significant body of literature in construction and other industries recognizing the important role of organizational factors in workplace safety, such as safety climate and leadership (e.g. Zohar, 2002)⁵. Thus, we recommend that promoting and maintaining a positive safety climate should be a major goal of the leadership in the organizations involved in these projects. Below, we offer four recommendations with specific strategies on how to achieve this.

Recommendation #1: Demonstrate the organization's commitment to safety and its willingness to assume responsibility and solve safety problems in action (i.e. talk the talk, and walk the walk).

How to achieve this?
• Provide workers with timely feedback for improvement, and recognition for their safety behaviors.
• Provide clearly defined organizational safety goals and policies.
• Provide adequate resources (e.g., equipment, budget) and consistently support the development and implementation of safety activities (e.g., programs, trainings).
• Develop and distribute quality toolbox talks.
• Provide frequent feedback and training of managers and workers on specific hazards and safety regulations and practices.
• Ensure cleanliness and orderliness of the work site, and the absence of hindrances to safe work practices.
• Conduct regular workplace hazard analyses to identify safety improvement opportunities.
• Routinely evaluate all operations, such as equipment, procedures, personnel selection – what valid criteria should be used to select or promote foremen, superintendents, etc., training, and work schedules, and if necessary, modify them to improve safety.
• Respond quickly and effectively, and comprehensively to correct any reported safety hazards.
• Provide detailed safety reports to all employees (e.g., injuries, near accidents).
• Consider one's safety record/behavior when promoting people.
• Consider safety when setting production speed and schedules.
• Regularly hold safety-awareness events (e.g., presentations, ceremonies).
• Give safety personnel the power they need to do their job.

Recommendation #2: Involve senior and middle-level management in safety. Based on our prior research, we encourage both general contractor and subcontractors to provide training to their senior and middle-level management on proactive management skills.

How to achieve this?
• Senior and middle-level management need to frequently communicate to their employees and show their genuine concern for safety through their participation in day-to-day operations.
• Explicitly include safety as senior and middle-level management's responsibility and in their performance standards. Their promotion and/or merit raises should be evaluated also based on their efforts and strategies in promoting safety.
• Senior and middle-level management need to be the role model and get involved in critical safety activities (e.g., safety seminars and training, toolbox talks, safety critical operations).
• Senior and middle-level management need to promote a climate of open communication about safety issues, errors, and near-misses through a non-punitive and constructive approach to safety.
• Senior and middle-level management need to provide timely feedback and recognition to foremen on a daily basis with the goals of maintaining and improving their proactive management skills listed in Recommendation #3.

Recommendation #3: Encourage foremen to display positive and constructive attitudes, actions, expectations, and communications about safety.

How to achieve this?
• Both general contractor and subcontractors are encouraged to provide training to foremen on proactive management skills.
  • Provide immediate, constructive, and specific feedback to workers when they demonstrate poor performance;
  • Discuss with workers specifically how to improve their work while giving feedback;
  • Give employees positive recognition and praise when they demonstrate good performance;
  • Engage open communications about safety, errors, and near-misses with workers to prevent injury and accidents
• Provide training to foremen on how to design and deliver effective toolbox talks. Our previous research has shown that construction workers consider toolbox talks as the most preferred approach to disseminate safety information.
• Explicitly include safety in foremen's position responsibilities and their performance standard. Their promotion and/or merit raises should be evaluated also based on their efforts and strategies in promoting safety.
• Consider providing, at a minimum, the OSHA 30-hour training for all foremen.

Recommendation #4: Empower workers to become actively involved in safety.

How to achieve this?
• Periodically conduct anonymous short safety climate surveys or informal interviews to allow employees the opportunity to voice their opinions and provide suggestions on the current status of the safety programs.
• Establish labor/management safety committees with appropriate experience and skill who have a voice in organizational safety decisions and also have the leverage to initiate and achieve safety improvements.
• Establish a formal reporting system including weekly information and an emergency reporting system for emergent issues that need to be conveyed to all on site personnel that is easily accessible to all employees (i.e. blast text messages). This system should allow and encourage employees to report safety problems, and should also provide timely and valuable feedback to both management and employees.

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⁵ Zohar, D. (2002). The effects of leadership dimensions, safety climate, and assigned priorities on minor injuries in work groups. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 75–92.

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