In the Construction industry, everyone knows that Safety should be First, but is it?
Far too often due to longstanding (and outdated) viewpoints and practices in the industry, employee efforts towards safety either go ignored by management, or worse, they're frowned upon!
Some Employers don't even provide training for Employees even after they ask for training, and 74% of workers wouldn't mind learning something new to stay an asset to the company. [Read about it in this Forbes article, which is more geared towards Corporate but the insights can be universal].
Nobody wants to 'piss off the boss' and nobody wants to hear their employees 'whining' about why they can't do what; but if you wouldn't jump out of an airplane without a parachute, why would work on a 15ft ledge without fall protection or a fall arrest system, or expect your employees do what you wouldn't!? Everyone wants the client to be happy, but it's proven that finishing a project early or under budget is not worth someone getting hurt or damaging equipment or property!
Safety has a bigger impact on the overall health of the entire business, but having a long-term positive safety culture vision is often overlooked and considered near the bottom of the list of requirements, if at all. But treating a company's Safety Culture as a Business Asset is a key component of driving the influence up and down the ranks.
It starts on both sides of the equation and works towards the center; with management buy-in and active field participation; it's more than just shoving safety manuals in a crew's facility and throwing them into the field thinking your job is done as a manager. Likewise, it's important as an employee to communicate with the company and let them know what you really need to get the job done safely, whether it's equipment, PPE, or training.
Like plenty of things in life, you rarely get what you want if you don't ask for it (or demand it)!
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