Construction Safety Week is a celebration of how far our industry has come in protecting our craft, but also a reminder of just how much more work we have ahead of us. This year’s theme of ALL TOGETHER: PLAN · OWN · COMMIT is in direct alignment with my personal safety management philosophy.
In the construction industry, no two projects are exactly the same, nor are they entirely different. Because of this fact, we share similar hazards across all segments of construction. Quite simply, the hazards that bring harm are known to the industry.
Task PLANning is the foundation of preventing injuries. When we outline the logical sequence of steps to a task, we are then afforded the opportunity to identify the hazards and controls for that task. Most importantly we can capitalize on our collective experience and knowledge to successfully plan a task.
Our task plans are not written to merely satisfy a corporate requirement, but for the project team to OWN and execute the plan. A chief step in this process is communicating it to the project’s stakeholders, namely the craft completing the task.
Lastly, we must COMMIT to the plan. All too often, on the day of execution, we abandon the plan we had carefully crafted. Field adjustments are necessary and acceptable but exchanging or skipping whole portions of the plan introduces new and unplanned hazards. If we face a gross deviation from our original plan, we must stop and replan the activity.
I am excited for this year’s Construction Safety Week events and activities, and I look forward to seeing how “Planning · Owning · Committing” makes construction a safer and more prosperous industry.