Despite the good development, the construction industry still has a long way to go to zero accidents. The prevention of accidents in the construction industry requires continuous action in favor of occupational safety. Occupational health and safety must be part of the company's general management and business processes. The company's top management sets goals and metrics for occupational safety. They are used to manage and monitor safety in the same way as financial results, quality and customer satisfaction.
Instead of silent acceptance and overlooking, the industry now needs a culture of caring and the commitment of everyone - not just supervisors - to the development of safety. It's about safety culture.
Construction industry RT does systematic work together with member companies and stakeholders to develop safety culture and operating methods. We influence the development of a good safety culture through various operating models, guides, instructions and occupational safety campaigns.
A self-assessment tool for the themes of good management
In order to provide additional information on good management themes, RT's safety team decided to implement a simple self-assessment tool. This is not a checklist of documents, but an assessment of whether the themes of good management are part of the organization's operations. Purposea in the self-assessment, the organization recognizes the strengths of management. The simple tool opens in Microsoft Word format.
Download an easy-to-use tool for management self-assessment here
Addressing occupational safety negligence
+It is the duty of everyone who works in a work community to follow safe work practices, instructions and to intervene in occupational safety negligence. Risk-taking and wrong working practices should not be accepted from a co-worker or contractual partner either. Also silent acceptance is an occupational safety violation or negligence.
The activities of employees and contractual partners can be influenced by both incentives and sanctions. Incentives motivate. They may improve working methods and procedures better than sanctions and thus lead to a good outcome.
The rules of the game for sanctions are already clear in the request for tenders
+Sanctions are either financial disciplinary measures or, in the most serious, end the employment or contractual relationship. In any case, the sanctions indicate operational problems and a deficient work safety culture. If sanctions are used, the procedures must already be presented in the tender documents and agreed in the contract. Any sanctions must be fair and reasonable in relation to the contract amount.
My own staff to draw up the rules
+We go over with our own personnel which methods and procedures are used to promote the occupational safety of our own personnel. The adoption and implementation of things is helped by drawing up the rules together with the staff.
Good management safety practices
+- Management's commitment to safety development and demonstrating commitment
- Coordination and management of site safety
- Investment in security personnel
- Careful safety planning
- Training and introduction to safety
- Employee participation and commitment to the implementation of safety goals
- Guidance of contractors and recording of safety goals in requests for tenders and contract contracts
- Feedback and reward for safe operation
- Reporting and investigating accidents and dangerous situations
- Safety monitoring and control
- Preparation of construction site safety instructions.
By applying these practices, good results have been obtained in many demanding construction projects. The accident frequency has been reduced to a fraction of the average figures for construction work. In some cases, accidents have been completely avoided with the help of good safety practices.
The practices listed above mainly concern safety management, but of course there are many individual good practices that can be supplemented.
We do not allow negligence in occupational safety
Safe working on a construction site/factory requires the main contractor and its management/employer to take systematic and planned action in matters affecting the occupational safety and health of employees.
Every employer must take into account the factors that are related
- to work
- working conditions and other work environment
- to the employee's personal conditions.
The starting point is the alignment of principles made in the company. Based on them, the company
- instructions on how to deal with negligence must be drawn up for site use/factories
- must inform the customer/builder about safety principles
- the safety principles concerning the construction site must also be exported to subcontracts.