This month is Building Safety Month, as recognized by the International Code Council (ICC). The ICC describes Building Safety Month as “a public awareness campaign to help individuals, families and businesses understand what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures.” Whether you work for a large building company, a small local contractor, or a global manufacturer of building products, workplace safety in the building industry should be top of mind year round. Even if your organization has an established culture of safety, it’s important to always seek out new and meaningful methods of keeping staff engaged.
Without commitment from leadership, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to achieve and sustain an injury-free culture. The role of leadership is to set expectations, demonstrate commitment to policy, and integrate health and safety into business objectives. Leadership and management teams should also focus on incorporating health and safety into employee evaluation criteria, and then recognizing and rewarding safety successes.
We know of companies where safety performance and incidents are the first topics discussed in any leadership meeting. This sends a message that safety is a core value, and it should never be pushed aside due to other pressing business items. Make sure that all injuries are reported to the leadership team, including the CEO, within 24 hours.
While it’s up to leadership teams to instill the core values and principles within the company, you also need employees to be involved in the safety effort. It should not only be expected—it should be required.
Establish a safety committee. Encourage company-wide employee involvement so that all departments are represented. If there is not a safety manager on every shift, there should be one person from the safety committee to reiterate safety policies.
For the full list of ways to better establish a culture of safety within your organization, follow the link below.
