Exposure-based training protects construction workers, company's bottom line
From data analysis to staff scheduling and training, technology is reshaping the construction industry.
Construction is consistently ranked as one of the riskiest industries in America. Fluid workforces, high-risk scenarios, and a communication disconnect between the home office and the front-line workforce all contribute to the possibility of serious injury or even death among its workforce. While the industry has come a long way in the past ten years, data shows productivity has remained stagnant.
According to a report by McKinsey & Co., construction productivity has been frozen for about 80 years. Technology is playing a large role in helping to improve industry-wide efficiency, performance, and safety, greatly impacting productivity and the bottom line.
From data analysis to staff scheduling and training, technology is reshaping the construction industry. Jobsite data used to be filed away and forgotten. Now, it can be stored in one curated database and analyzed for risk factors through assets like project management and scheduling software, which have improved safety and efficiency outcomes. That said, analyzing data and identifying dangers can only improve outcomes if contractors apply the data to engineer out or communicate and train around the identified risks. This is another area in which technology proves to be a major asset.
Features such as hazard awareness, predictive applications, and the widespread availability of handheld and wearable tech have had a massive impact on safety, general planning and quality. For example, enhanced devices can tell management if a worker is outside their designated area and alert them of a hazard using chip technology. Virtual reality and augmented reality have also allowed for major strides in identifying risks so they can be mitigated from the start. New, exposure-based training simulates a “hands-on” experience that instills situational awareness and allows workers to learn and retain relevant information but in a 3D environment where they’re not yet facing real dangers in the field. Ultimately, exposure-based training educates people on how to overcome natural biases that put them in harm’s way and become more aware of risk. Deploying this training concept through handheld, mobile devices allow for highly customizable training specific to each unique construction project that’s easily accessible and trackable for all parties involved.
These digital communication capabilities are critical in all industries with a highly fluid workforce and construction is certainly no exception. General contractors and subcontractors assume the risk of assuring each employee is appropriately trained, and high turnover creates a constant challenge around maintaining a culture of safety and quality. Technology-based training and project management allow for the delivery of a strong, consistent message in an efficient manner. The transparency and ease of access that this technology offers aim to reduce the risk of serious injury or fatality of workers on the front line, while also reducing liability risk for construction professionals in the office who need to reach compliance standards and regulations.
The financial ramifications of not putting safety first
Industry leaders are also employing digital communication platforms to apply the lean construction concept to training, effectively determining where education is needed, and delivering it on a timely basis. It’s common practice to orchestrate safety huddles in the morning on-site, but by the end of the day, many participants may not remember what was discussed or didn’t understand it in the first place. Exposure-based training improves information retention while saving time.
One organization, in particular, Pankow, is seeing a 98% training completion rate on its workforce by deploying its training programs through MindForge. For the first time ever, Pankow has the ability to actually track the training progress for each of its workers, and the company has saved more than $12,000 in training time on one job site alone.
Construction and insurance professionals alike are connecting the dots between the moral obligations of protecting the workforce and the financial rewards of doing so. Training used to be more compliance-based than it was qualitative, but that’s beginning to shift in a major way. Getting everyone on board that safety is not adverse to production has always been a challenge in the construction industry, yet there is a direct correlation between enhanced safety results and increased profits. Educating all levels of employees on the financial reasons to be safe, along with the moral reasons to protect fellow workers, sends a very powerful and effective message that the company cares about its people. This increases morale, which in turn enhances recruiting ability and ultimately generates more income.
Moreover, construction sites that lack an effective safety culture will generate higher insurance costs. The iceberg theory can be applied to depict cost within the construction industry where the visible section above the waterline consists of direct costs such as legal expenses. Hidden below the waterline lie the indirect costs, such as the loss of productivity of individuals as well as events such as hospital visits and retraining. These unforeseen costs can escalate to anywhere from two to 10 times the amount of the direct cost.
A company must also consider reputational risk. Insurance agencies audit a company’s past losses, such as workers’ compensation, general liability, and auto liability, to determine if the company is safe and has quality training programs in place. General contractors hiring subcontractors will look at the EMR, and if it’s above a certain level, they are not allowed to bid on the job. At the end of the day, less safety will result in less income-generating opportunity. The same management is required to have quality work as it is to have safe work, and if a company is not managing those costs, it’s not managing the bottom line.
Construction is a highly competitive industry for every party involved. The early adoption and implementation of money-saving, time-saving, and life-saving technologies is one way its constituents can differentiate themselves among competitors.
Brokers and agents, who have added immense value to client-based insurance services over the past 25 years, can differentiate themselves by being more risk-averse, reducing losses, and ultimately reducing the cost of insurance over the long run. Moreover, investing in such technology can signify a company’s dedication to a strong safety culture and potentially earn it a reduced premium rate and/or high deductible plan. New technology is helping to bridge the disconnect that currently exists between top management, middle management, and field workers and enforces a unified, safe, and productive culture that ultimately protects the company’s bottom line.
Stokes McIntyre is the president of MindForge, a subsidiary of the International Risk Management Institute. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
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