On a construction jobsite, workers are a company’s most valuable asset. And keeping those people safe means the industry is always pushing to maintain the safest work environment possible.
The journey to world-class safety has many facets but it all starts with a commitment from leadership to create a culture of safety within a company. A culture of safety means taking responsibility for the safety of themselves and each other belongs to every single person on a jobsite — from management down to those in the field.
Recognizing this important fact, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has worked to develop a system that will help contractors take this step, along with three others, to create a safe work environment that can continue to grow with new techniques and technology.
The Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP), established in 1989, has already proven to be effective at helping companies prioritize safety. Participants in the program experience fewer lost-time incidents by using the 20 key components of an effective safety program. Specifically, STEP participants have total recordable incidence rates (TRIR) 38 percent below the Bureau of Labor Statistics industry average — and that’s for all levels. For the top levels of Platinum and Diamond, they are 67 percent and 86 percent better, respectively.
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But the truth is safety is a journey, not a destination and there still needed to be a way to help companies continuously improve. And that was the driving force behind STEP Plus, which creates a three-year transformative journey for construction companies that involves four steps:
• A cultural transformation
• Systematic implementation
• Proven results
• Sustaining
Those four steps provide the framework for any construction company, no matter what its current safety practices are, to start on the path toward a zero-incident jobsite.
Because up to one-third of all workplace incidents are drug- and alcohol-related, one of the other most important parts of creating a truly safe work environment is ensuring contractors lay a solid foundation of drug- and alcohol-free workplaces.
From that, the Construction Coalition for a Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace was created with several industry groups. The mission of this coalition is simple — encourage contractors, unions, trade associations, insurance carriers and regulatory organizations throughout the construction industry to commit to eliminating substance abuse in the construction industry.
The coalition has proposed a minimum set of standards in drug and alcohol policies and asks organizations to sign the Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace Pledge, which states they will enact a substance abuse testing policy equal to, or greater than, the policy featured on the coalition’s website, www.drugfreeconstruction.org.
The website also features resources that will help visitors implement effective substance abuse policies. The best practices section of www.drugfreeconstruction.org includes a model substance abuse policy, which is designed using standard industry substance abuse guidelines. The model policy also allows contractors to edit each section to customize it so it complies with their state and local laws. Other best practices are designed to help companies strengthen their substance abuse policies using resources created and implemented by fellow industry partners.
The groups involved include ABC, Associated General Contractors of America, Construction Industry Roundtable, Construction Users’ Roundtable and Women Construction Owners and Executives — making it a true industry effort.
No matter how you look at it, to be successful in the construction industry, a company must make the safety of its employees a priority. Contractors of all shapes and sizes should take the first step toward that goal by visiting www.drugfreeconstruction.org to take the pledge and put to use the free resources available to help them implement an effective drug- and alcohol-free policy.
Dan Brodbeck is the founder, presi-dent and CEO of Compass Partners LLC, Brentwood, Tenn.
For more information on ABC, visit www.abc.org or call (202) 595-1505.
