At a glance
Key accomplishments from the National Construction Center, administered by CWPR-The Center for Construction Reseach and Training, in fiscal year 2020. Achievements include an event to reduce struck-by injuries, a new safety climate assessment tool, and a mentoring program for women.
Introduction
CPWR—The Center for Construction Research and Training is the National Center for Construction Safety and Health Research and Translation for 2019–2024. CPWR received this funding through an extramural competition. It has received NIOSH funding for the past 30 years through a series of competitive funding announcements.
CPWR, with its diverse construction community, leads in the field of applied construction research. It makes effective interventions available to the construction industry. Along with its consortium of six academic partners, CPWR researches safety and health risks that construction workers face on the job. This research includes both causes and solutions. Funded research projects support Construction Sector Program research goals as well as emerging issues.
You can find this and more in the NIOSH Extramural Research and Training Program: Annual Report of Fiscal Year 2020.
National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents
In the construction industry, struck-by incidents are a leading cause of death. They have topped the leading cause of nonfatal injuries since 1992. Most workers are struck by flying, swinging, or rolling objects, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In FY 2020, CPWR joined the NORA Construction Sector Council in launching the first-ever National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents. This inaugural event aimed to increase awareness of both struck-by hazards, as well as approaches for preventing these incidents. It was held during National Zone Awareness Week in April.
The event featured a virtual question and answer (Q&A) panel with experts. The speakers shared about struck-by hazards in work zones and ways to prevent these from occurring on job sites. A variety of resources for the National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents were also available. These included training materials, toolbox talks, and webpage.
Almost 700 people attended the virtual event. More than 1700 people viewed the virtual Q&A from April 22, 2020, through August 31, 2020. In addition, 386 people accessed CPWR's Struck-by-Injuries webpage and additional materials from September 1, 2019, through August 31, 2020.
Details: Struck-by Hazards
Safety climate assessment tool
A key leading indicator of a company's jobsite safety is having a strong positive safety climate. This is defined as employees' shared perceptions that a company's stated safety policies and procedures are consistent with actual jobsite practices.
In 2016, CPWR developed the Safety Climate Assessment Tool (S-CAT). It helps construction companies evaluate their jobsite safety climate maturity across eight leading safety climate indicators. In 2018, they also developed the Safety Climate Assessment Tool for Small Contractors (S-CATsc). This is a simple needs assessment based on the S-CAT's eight leading indicators.
Both provide guidance on how to strengthen jobsite safety climate. However, neither offer safety management resources companies can use to improve their scores.
To fill this gap, CPWR created a new interactive online tool called the Safety Climate-Safety Management Information System (SC-SMIS). SC-SMIS users have been able to
- Conduct jobsite safety climate assessments using the S-CAT and/or S-CATsc,
- Select from over 80 evidence-based safety management resources to target and improve low-scoring safety climate indicators,
- Develop plans to put the resources into action
- Schedule reminders to conduct periodic assessments, and
- Implement new resources for continuous safety climate improvement.
CPWR finalized and began offering the SC-SMIS at the end of FY 2021. To complement the SC-SMIS, CPWR developed a new Confidence to Implement scale to measure a safety professional's confidence to identify, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of safety management resources. This tool has helped these safety professionals better understand their strengths and needs in terms of safety climate and safety management improvement activities.
Details:
Mentoring program for women in trades
Women working in the trade industry face many challenges, including a higher likelihood of discrimination and harassment compared with men. Their skills are often underutilized. In the construction industry, women represent a small portion of the workforce. They leave construction apprenticeship programs at high rates, possibly due to these challenges.
Researchers funded by CPWR at the University of Washington are now developing and testing a mentoring program for women in construction. They are partnering with a labor union on this project—the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART). The program seeks to increase these construction workers' self-knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills related to advocating for safety. Ultimately the goal is to reduce injury risks and psychological stressors at work.
Journey-level, or skilled, construction workers from local SMART unions in the study will mentor female apprentices. The mentors will get training on effective mentoring techniques and program content. A group of 100 women will receive mentoring during a two-year period. Another group of 100 female apprentices will receive mentoring.
Throughout the study, researchers will assess both groups to measure the program's impact. The are especially interested in changes in their stress levels, coping mechanisms, safety climate at work, and job retention.
Details: Women in the Trades