Construction firms that participate in its “STEP Health and Safety Management System” reduce total recordable incident rates by 85%, according to a new report from Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC). In a press release, the group said top-performing firms “achieve incident rates 658% safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics construction industry average.”
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“Transforming the status quo to set the expectation that all incidents are preventable creates a culture where health and safety are elevated to core values, a moral obligation for employers and employees,” said Greg Sizemore, VP of health, safety, environment, and workforce development in a statement. “Priorities change frequently, but values remain consistent. The tools in ABC’s safety report draw the blueprint for industry leaders and workers to create a culture of health and safety, win and deliver work to communities without incident and protect the construction industry’s most valuable resource: its workforce.”
Best Practices for Safety
The report, “2025 Health and Safety Performance Report,” includes data from 1 billion work hours completed by participants. Best practices identified in the report include:
- New hire safety orientation: Companies that conduct an in-depth indoctrination of new employees into health and safety culture, systems and processes experience Total Recordable Incident Rates, or TRIR, 52% lower than companies that limit their orientations to basic health and safety compliance topics. DART rates (Days Away, Restricted or Transferred) are reduced by 56%.
- Substance abuse prevention programs: Robust substance abuse prevention programs and policies with provisions for drug and alcohol testing where permitted lead to a 52% reduction in TRIR and a 55% reduction in DART rates.
- Frequency of toolbox talks: Companies that conduct daily, 15-to-30-minute toolbox talks reduce TRIR rates by 78% and DART rates by 79% compared to companies that hold them monthly.
- Top management engagement: Employer involvement at the highest level of company management in safety best practices produces a 49% reduction in TRIR and a 52% reduction in DART rates.
- Leading indicators: Tracking and reviewing activities carried out to prevent and control injuries, such as safety training, new hire safety orientation and substance abuse prevention, leads to a 59% reduction in TRIR and a 60% reduction in DART rates.
