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Safety Climate
Jobsite Safety Climate W

#8

T
Encouraging Owner/Client Involvement
Construction management, in partnership with their employees, is responsible for ensuring that jobsite hazards are
eliminated, or at least minimized. These partnerships are most effective when they exist within a positive safety climate.
The safety climate on a construction jobsite refers to managements’ and employees’ shared
perceptions about the extent to which safety is rewarded, expected, valued and reinforced. It
may be influenced by things such as project scheduling and planning methods and norms of
the trades working on-site.

Project owners/clients have the authority to develop and issue project policies, shape bid practices, and approve budgets – all of which, if done with a focus on
safety, can result in an excellent safety climate and project performance. Which of the following best describes your company?
INATTENTIVE REACTIVE COMPLIANT PROACTIVE EXEMPLARY
Project owner/client Contractors with poor Project owner/client relies Project owner/client Contractors are selected
does not require safety safety records may be exclusively on federal, state, communicates safety based on safety practices/
pre-qualifications from excluded from bidding, and local safety laws for expectations to contractors climate rather than low
contractors, and makes but there are no meetings pre-qualification criteria but and consistently enforces bid. Project owner/client
selections based on lowest to discuss why the safety use low bid for selecting them on-site. There is a site- participates in daily planning
bids. record is poor or how contractors. Project specific safety template for meetings, are regularly
Project owner/client has to improve. Data aren’t owner/client depends on each job that all contractors on-site to connect with and
no understanding of or reviewed for trends. conventional methods are required to follow. There learn from employees, and
presence in the safety of insuring the job (e.g., are regularly scheduled there is a representative
process. insurance provided by the safety meetings with all on-site to monitor and
contractors). contractors and owners. assist with safety program
Injury and illness trends implementation. Prevention
are used to determine through Design (PtD) is
weaknesses. Safety used in the design and
programs are reviewed at planning phases, which
least annually. includes employees. Project
owner/client provides
adequate resources to
ensure that safety is valued
as much as productivity.

How to become exemplary

Review the ideas below and check the short-term (1-2 months), mid-term (6-12 months), or long-term (1-2 years) circle to indicate which you will
commit to adopt and by when. Congratulations, if you’ve already adopted the idea!

Idea #1 – Project owner/client presence on-site demonstrates safety buy-in and provides the foundation for a
strong safety climate:
1a. Participate and lead employee orientation Already Adopted

Site orientations help familiarize employees with potential hazards they may face on the jobsite. Short-term
Orientation also helps establish a foundation for two-way communication between project owners/ Mid-term
clients, contractors, and employees about safety issues. When employees see project owners
demonstrate that they value safety, they are more confident that participating in safety efforts is Long-term
important.

1b. Devote adequate resources to implementing safety programs and enforcing policies Already Adopted

To show a true commitment to protecting employees, project owner/client must make available Short-term
adequate resources to those managing the safety program. Safety policies and programs are Mid-term
meaningless unless they are effectively implemented, enforced, reviewed, and if necessary, modified.
Long-term
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1c. Create mechanisms for contractors to voice safety concerns Already Adopted

Create a climate where contractor concerns are heard and those who identify hazards are recognized. Short-term
It may be important to offer contractors alternative ways to communicate with owners about potential Mid-term
hazards including suggestion boxes placed in multiple locations, surveys, and informal non-threatening
interviews. Long-term

1d. Join daily planning meetings and safety walk-arounds, and ALWAYS wear appropriate PPE Already Adopted

As often as possible, project owner/client should participate in daily pre-task planning meetings (or Short-term
huddles) and joint site safety walk-arounds with contractors’ management and employees. Asking field Mid-term
personnel for solutions to safety-related issues clearly demonstrates “walking the talk”; that is, as long
as feasible suggestions are considered and acted upon. Project owner’s participation in safety activities Long-term
and following safety rules helps employees trust management’s espoused safety values. Nothing sours
a relationship like “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Idea #2 - Incorporate safety throughout the design and planning phases of the project:
2a. Take safety into account when selecting and evaluating contractors Already Adopted

Carefully review contractors’ safety program and policies, as well as their safety performance, when Short-term
pre-qualifying and selecting them for a project. Review bids for reasonable PPE, safety supplies, and Mid-term
training. Data on lagging indicators (e.g., injuries) may reflect underreporting rather than a strong
commitment to safety. Responsibilities, expectations, and evaluation metrics based on safety climate Long-term
indicators (like the ones in this workbook) should be specified in the contract, and selected contractors
should be held accountable for meeting those expectations.

2b. Use Prevention through Design (PtD) methods Already Adopted

Provide PtD training for in-house and contracted architects and engineers to educate them on Short-term
strategies they can use to design hazards out of equipment, structures, materials, and processes that Mid-term
may negatively affect employees and end-users. Consider value added engineering of PtD in costs and
schedule. Long-term

Idea #3 - Make the project owner/client accountable for safety Already Adopted

Project owner/client should participate in regular safety committee meetings that have a rotating chair so that the Short-term
project owner/client is periodically the safety committee chair. Project owner/client should have an open door Mid-term
policy for contractors to discuss safety issues and ensure that their representatives in the field follow all safety
rules. Long-term

Click here http://www.cpwr.com/safety-culture to read the full Safety Culture/Climate workshop report. This worksheet and the rating tool were
developed under a cooperative agreement (#U60-OH009762) to CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training from the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NIOSH.
©2016, CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training
June 2016