The nature of construction sites constantly poses all sorts of safety risks to workers. Recent statistics from Safe Work Australia show that traumatic injury fatalities and mesothelioma cases are common among construction workers—a present reality despite stronger advocacy for environmental safety and occupational health programs in the industry.

1. Beyond Programs
and Policies:
A Pressing Need for
Safety-First Culture
B&S PRINTING
Address: 3 Longfellow Court, Belmont WA 6104, Australia
Contact Number: 08 9377 2988

2. The nature of construction sites
constantly poses all sorts of
safety risks to workers. Recent
statistics from Safe Work
Australia show that traumatic
injury fatalities and
mesothelioma cases are common
among construction workers—a
present reality despite stronger
advocacy for environmental
safety and occupational health
programs in the industry.
Experts believe that the problem is not a question of program effectiveness;
rather it is a reflection of the level of awareness and accountability for safety
of each worker in the organisation. In other words, the issue calls for a
stronger safety-first culture in the work site.
The Concept of Safety-First Culture
Although there is no clear definition of
what safety-first culture is, advocates of
safe work environments agree that the
concept refers to the organisational
atmosphere created by employees that
keep safety and health as the top
priority.
Safety-first culture is different from
environmental safety or occupational
health because it goes beyond
considering external safety risks, but
confronts the commitment and character
of employees themselves towards
creating a safe work environment.

3. Safety-first culture includes factors that influence the general attitudes and
behaviours within the organisation. For instance, it covers positive workplace
perspective (from the leaders down to the new hires), involvement and
participation of the workforce, and responsibility and accountability.
Advocates of Safety
Jumpstarting the safety culture and
instilling positive attitudes starts with
the right information. Personnel
training are crucial. Tools like Take 5
booklets help reinforce the training
that employees went through. Because
the safety-first culture aims to involve
every individual in every level of the
organisation, information should not
just come from the leadership board.
Construction site managers should welcome and promote even ‘minor’ safety
information. It is a common reality in most construction sites that employees
refuse to report near miss incidents because they believe that such events
are too small to be an issue.
In reality, however, information from a
near miss incident provides rich
insights on the possible improvements
the leadership board can do to make
the work site safer. It is for this reason
that site mangers should encourage
‘small’ safety information. They should
urgently respond to concerned
employees, reward their efforts and
notify others.
A safety-first culture—positive attitudes, active participation and a sense of
responsibility from the workforce—are necessary to reduce risks in the
construction site.

4. RESOURCES:
http://www.bsprint.com.au/take-5-booklets
http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA/about/Publications/Docume
nts/758/Key-WHS-Statistics-2013.pdf
http://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/australia/