Has anyone determined the reasons for disruptions, accidents, and/or losses, experienced at your organization’s jobsites? Why are workers getting hurt in spite of safety standards, programs, policies, procedures, training, and possibly everyone’s best efforts? What can be done to reduce losses, avoid accidents, control the cost of risk and improve the bottom line? These are good and pertinent questions since business is under increasing pressure to improve operational efficiency, people’s effectiveness as well as profitability.

Typically, in construction safety management is a separate function from that of operations. The foreman or superintendent is in charge of operations on site. They manage by planning, organizing, directing, staffing, and controlling the work. This person may be involved before the work is started, while the work being put in place and sometime after the work is completed. The project is driven by the schedule which is based on planned production, and kept on track by leadership and management, problem solving, communicating, expediting, coordinating, recovery planning, and risk management. This is a proactive forward-looking approach to management.