An Experiential Analysis of Job Site Safety: Delineating Between Positive Safety Culture and Excessive Safety

Abstract

In general industry and in construction many safety requirements are mandated on job sites and in facilities. Many requirements move past simple compliance and enter the realm of cultural safety. This high level of cultural safety is what is typically the level most safety professionals strive for in any company. The balance is tipped to excessive when we move past the cultural safety into redundant or multi layers of requirements that affect production rates and have no actual value to safety but have the appearance of safety. This research looked into a large construction project that had multiple layers of safety professionals and multiple layers of redundant safety requirements. Some of the items reviewed were additional fall protection in scissor lifts, self-retracting utility knives, 100% PPE on site and other items above regulatory minimums. What was identified in the research was that if the hazard was high with potential catastrophic results, additional safety precautions were welcomed. If the perceived risk was low, it was viewed as a nuisance. Additionally, some redundant safety items significantly contributed to fatal incidents. The most important aspect of this paper is that true safety comes from a proper honest risk assessment and right sized mitigation of those hazards identified.