Page 25 - Occupational Health & Safety, March 2019

FALL PROTECTION
Leaning into Construction Safety
Lean principles ensure everyone is on the same page from day one of a project and that each team member maintains a shared understanding of tasks, risks, goals and procedures throughout construction.
BY HENRY NUTT III
www.ohsonline.com
MARCH 2019 | Occupational Health & Safety 19
In any construction project, the aspiration is to be injury-free. Construction site accidents cause hu- man suffering and reduce morale, are financially burdensome, delay project delivery and decrease
the overall success of a project. The unfortunate reality today, however, is that if you have been a part of the building, design and construction world for any sig- nificant amount of time, odds are good that you have witnessed a co-worker get injured on the job or you yourself have sustained an injury—be it from a fall, misplaced tool, unclear instructions, or any number of possible causes that plague an environment that is far more dangerous than it needs to be.
Unsafe sites should not be the norm. Over the course of more than 30 years working in the indus- try, I have seen how health and safety hazards can be prevented by incorporating Lean strategies into construction projects from planning through comple- tion. Lean construction and design is both a project management strategy and a real-world toolkit avail- able to each and every worker who interacts with a construction site. It is based on a simple but too often disregarded ethos of communication, coordination, pre-task planning, and transparency at every level of
the project team, from CEO to tradesperson.
What makes operating a site under Lean prin- ciples different and inherently safer than other sites is the active role that each team member takes, along with the understanding that all voices have equal rep- resentation when it comes to creating a project flow that maximizes value and minimizes waste. Because every team member has an active voice, the team is able to capture a broader perspective of risks involved with the project. There are up-front costs associated with injury prevention, including time, training, and manpower, but the value is clear compared to what would be lost in all of these arenas by having to deal with direct injuries, not to mention the trickle-down impact that injuries cause all across the value chain
after they have occurred.
I have been on projects where safety was just a
word and not a true priority for the project team. There would be trip hazards, unprotected barriers, and a lack of concern for basic safety procedures, but even after much discussion, safety wouldn’t rise above the impor- tance of keeping a schedule. To overcome this, we em- powered teams to look out for one another even more than usual. We initiated weekly safety tailgate talks that are specific to the hazards that existed on the project, which encouraged more discussion on hazard mitiga- tion versus becoming a victim to the environment.
Creating Common Ground
For the past 12 years, I have been working on projects that incorporate Lean principles. I have seen the dif- ference Lean can make in overall safety and how that translates into enhanced job satisfaction and work- place performance. Many dangerous incidents, espe- cially common accidents such as falls, occur because project teams comprise pools of people coming from diverse backgrounds and project experience, with dif- ferent mindsets on how something should be done. Lean principles recognize this as a risk, ensuring that everyone is on the same page from day one of a proj- ect and that each team member maintains an equal footing and a shared understanding of tasks, risks, goals and procedures throughout construction. This creates a measure of accountability for all involved, which is ultimately the goal.
Engineers are brought to the same table as skilled laborers, project managers, and CEOs so that every- one can share their particular expertise. This enables each team member to understand all of the moving
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