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Health and safety is a core part of any business but incidents and injuries on the job can still happen. According to SafeWork Australia, in the construction industry alone there were 15,877 serious work-related injury claims between 2020 and 2021, and in the same period, there were 316 fatalities. 

Construction and trades make up a fair portion of incidents and injuries at work. When you think about the cost of the time off, it adds up to a pretty staggered sum.  As of 2020 the average compensation claim looks like:

• $24,628 in compensation paid 
• 10 weeks of lost time per person

With numbers like this, we need to help you find a way to improve the health and safety culture so you can make sure it’s safe and profitable as well. 

The signs of poor health and safety
If you’re concerned that your health and safety policies and procedures aren’t being followed or maybe not quite up to scratch, there are a number of things you can keep your eyes peeled for: 

• Poor Incident Reporting
• Blame Culture
• Poor Communication

So, how do you get your crew on board?
When it comes down to it, creating a culture of site safety isn’t as easy as putting new procedures in place and calling it a job well done – it’s up to you to involve and motivate your crew to be proactive and take safety into their own hands. You need to make sure that your crew are on board and are taking the right steps to create a safety culture. 

Some steps you can take include:

Communication
It seems like an obvious one but poor communication can really hinder your efforts to create a safety culture. Having regular honest and open communication with your crew about why you’re talking about all things safety is the best way to help them understand the importance. 

The more transparent and clear you are, the more likely they will be to really take the new initiatives seriously. Make sure that your crew has easy access to your current health and safety guidelines so they can stay in the know about any changes. 

Support your staff
Site safety isn’t just about incidents on your site, it’s also about being a supportive employer who ensures their people are feeling safe and secure when they come to work every day. Make sure that the physical health, mental health and even emotional health of your people is a factor for how you manage them. Those working in construction and trades like other sections of society are  at risk of depression, stress, or anxiety as well. 

If you are taking steps to improve your site safety culture, make sure you factor in both physical and mental health awareness in all that you do for your staff. By providing resources and establishing an environment where your crew feels respected and safe to open up and express themselves you’ll be able to create a support system where you can look after each other’s wellbeing and mental health. 

Training
Ensuring that your crew are trained up on all the correct licenses, procedures and health and safety practices is a sure fire way to make sure that they are fully knowledgeable on correct procedures. With the right training in place, you can have confidence that they know how to safely and correctly perform their jobs. 

Be a leader
We’ve all experienced bad leadership before, and that if they don’t care about something, it’s highly unlikely you will either. So, if your crew sees that you don’t take health and safety seriously, you’re out of luck getting them to foster a culture of site safety.  

You need to walk the walk before you talk the talk. Demonstrate to your crew the importance of following health and safety standards by doing them yourself. They’re a whole lot more likely to follow your example than just take your word for it. 

Reporting
You need to set the tone with your crew that reporting incidents isn’t something they need to feel anxious or uncomfortable about doing. Make it clear that they won’t get in any trouble for making a report but instead see it as a way of finding out what caused the accident or injury and what can be done to make sure it won’t happen again. By making proper reporting a core element of your crew’s job responsibilities it can become second nature to them. 

Make it a team effort
Site safety impacts everyone, so it makes sense that your crew should have a hand in shaping their site’s culture. The more input they have, the more likely they are to follow precautions. 

By having regular health and safety chats with your crew, you can give them the opportunity to voice their own safety concerns and opinions. By having open conversations and allowing input from your crew you’re giving them the ability to implement safety measures that affect their own jobs, ultimately making them more likely to follow processes and encourage others to do the same.

If you have any questions please reach out to the HazardCo team today