[mhays]

In my region, safety is a near-obsession for any major general contractor.

Generally the policies and procedures are there. If it's a union shop everyone is trained in advance. At my firm, everyone also goes through an orientation on every project, including subs. There's a crew huddle every day. Every task is planned in advance, with the safe approach planned and discussed in advance.

If a subcontractor's IT guy walks onto one of our sites without safety glasses, gloves, boots, and a visibility vest, the incident and corrective action will be detailed in a weekly report (along with any others) to every employee. If a hammer falls from 15 feet, there will be a root cause analysis meeting.

Some companies say the right things but their culture seems to put schedule ahead of safety. The impression of the average worker is key here...is the president saying the right things but the foreman is more about sucking it up and beating the schedule? That's been a big focus at my employer...speak up, do things right, stop work if necessary, whether it's the activity that's unsafe or you tweaked a knee.

Beating schedules is important to winning more work, but being safe is just as important, even before the human side. Clients ask for safety approaches and stats all the time, particularly large companies and public agencies. Nobody wants an unsafe contractor building a high school addition, or the cost and delay of an accident. It's also helpful for us to hire and keep the best people.