Moving toward a Zero Injury Objective

In the past decade the terms “zero accidents” and “zero injuries” have been used a great deal by construction firms espousing their commitment to safety. Studies have shown that many construction firms, especially those in the industrial sector, have enjoyed significant improvements in their safety performances. These performance statistics have been considerably better than those of the overall construction industry and provide clear testimony of the effectiveness of efforts to improve safety. Although safety performances have been impressive among many of these firms, a study was conducted to see if additional improvements could be made. The study was conducted with a selected group of large, primarily industrial, firms to determine if any changes had been made since the Construction Industry Institute publicized its findings on effective means to improve safety performance. Results show that additional changes have been made by many of these firms and that the benefits were also realized. Safety performances have improved since these additional safety practices have been implemented. The implication is that firms with good safety records can still make improvements by implementing specific safety practices.