Researchers to explore strategies to improve construction worker safety

Aurora, CO — A collaborative research effort is underway to build a toolkit to help construction managers, supervisors and workers identify and address safety and health challenges unique to the industry.

The Collaborative Leadership for Safety and Health in Construction project is being led by researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health and the Center for Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace. It’s supported by CPWR – the Center for Construction Research and Training, NIOSH, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The five-year project is focused on the critical safety and mental health challenges in construction, an industry known for high rates of injuries, fatalities and psychosocial issues such as suicide and substance use.

The researchers expect the resulting toolkit to foster a culture of safety and health that’s both comprehensive and sustainable by emphasizing collaboration between various levels of the workforce and, in turn, contribute to reduced injury rates and enhanced worker health and well-being.

The team will work with industry advisors – including representatives from academia, labor unions and safety professions – to ensure the toolkit reflects a wide range of perspectives to increase its potential adaptability and effectiveness.

Eight contractors will implement and use the toolkit as the researchers evaluate the process. After the evaluation process, the toolkit will be disseminated via OSHA, along with some labor unions, contractor associations, professional safety and health associations, and workers’ compensation insurers.

“The secret sauce of our approach is the focus on both leadership commitment and workforce engagement,” project leader Natalie Schwatka, assistant professor at the Centers for Health, Work & Environment at the ColoradoSPH, said in a press release. “This project is about creating a framework that gives both managers/supervisors and workers a more active role in the safety and well-being initiatives at their workplace.

“The upside for workers is that this project gives them a seat at the table throughout the process.”