Jim Pauley, President and CEO, National Fire Protection Association.
Skilled trades workers have a duty to design, build and maintain facilities to be as safe and resilient as possible. However, the safety of these workers themselves while on the job is not something we can take for granted, especially considering that construction sites and other facilities are inherently hazardous. Whether these hazards are uneven grounds, ladders, electrical systems or anything in between, workers need to be constantly vigilant and take precautions to mitigate controllable risks and prevent injuries or even death.
While working safely is certainly the responsibility of individual workers, this burden doesn’t fall on their shoulders alone. Workplace cultures that are truly safety-centric start from the top of organizations and are driven by the values and investments of business leaders.
While employers have legal obligations to protect their workers, the goal shouldn’t only be to meet the minimum safety requirements set out by regulatory agencies. Rather, the goal should be to establish cultures where safety is a top priority and guiding light, not just in theory, but in everyday practice.
Why To Prioritize Safety
The reasons for believing in strong safety cultures seem obvious—to protect workers and properties from harm. While making sure employees return home safely from work every day is, of course, the main incentive for investing in safety, there are other benefits to consider.
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First, safety has business value—companies with lower incident rates typically have a better reputation in the industry (with both new clients and prospective workers), thereby increasing their growth opportunities.
Secondly, safe processes ensure operations run smoothly, maximizing productivity and boosting outputs. If a safety incident delays a production line, for instance, it can significantly cut into revenue.
Lastly, how much emphasis workers put on safety ties directly back to safety for end users. For example, as electric vehicles rise in popularity, EV chargers need to be properly installed and maintained using proper codes and standards to mitigate safety hazards to workers and the public.
Five Steps To Put Safety First
It’s one thing to know why, but it’s another to know how. Here are five steps business leaders in the skilled trades can take to promote safer workplaces:
1. Foster a culture of trust and open communication.
Leadership requires that there is a shared belief held by members of a team that they can take appropriate risks, express their ideas and concerns, speak up with questions, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences.
When employers make it clear that worker safety is taken seriously, and that trust and open communication are key aspects of organizational culture, employees will be more likely to raise safety issues or hazards when they see them. Leaders should teach workers what hazards to look for and who to approach with safety questions or concerns.
2. Share the responsibility.
Everyone plays a role in creating safer workplaces. While leaders have the duty to set the tone and enforce safety as an organizational priority, individual workers should be accountable for their own piece of the safety pie. The company should also view auditors and inspectors as safety partners, not threats, and work together with them to improve safety outcomes. Safety doesn’t happen in a silo, so leaders should encourage collaboration between all involved parties.
3. Learn from mistakes.
While the skilled trades do their best to mitigate risks, safety incidents do happen. In these cases, the best way forward is to reflect on what factors may have contributed to the incident and how to prevent similar accidents in the future.
For example, if a worker gets injured in an arc flash, what new electrical safety trainings, policies or procedures should be implemented? Whether teams are debriefing safety missteps or celebrating safety wins, the most important thing is that safety is talked about openly and often.
4. Invest in tech, tools and trainings.
Codes and standards provide the foundation for safety programs. For this reason, leaders should invest in digital tools to bring relevant codes and standards to their workers’ fingertips and enable easier reference and collaboration.
In a 2023 survey by my organization, the NFPA, 28% of respondents believed that technology, including digital codebooks, will help improve accuracy and safety in day-to-day operations. Respondents also noted the role of trainings, certifications and professional memberships in safety, with 32% feeling safer when they have a solid understanding of the tools and processes they’re working on.
5. Don’t cut corners with safety.
Unfortunately, I sometimes see safety best practices get bypassed. Veteran workers may feel a false sense of confidence after years on the job, or employers may feel they can take shortcuts, especially if they haven’t faced any consequences before.
However, any perceived “extra steps” related to safety are required for good reason. It may be helpful for leaders to share real-life examples connected to their safety policies to help workers avoid complacency. Making mandatory safety procedures easier for workers to comply with (e.g., asynchronous safety trainings) can also go a long way toward more enthusiastic participation.
While leaders in sectors like construction have been calling for greater emphasis on safe cultures, there’s still a lot of work left to be done. To avoid unnecessary injuries and deaths and keep businesses healthy, business leaders need to view safety less as a cumbersome requirement and more as an imperative value add to protect people, properties and revenue. By taking the above steps to promote safety-first cultures, leaders can make the trades safer for today's and tomorrow's workers.
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