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Construction safety - Are safety-based incentives as beneficial as they seem?

By Megan Roth

A few days ago I wrote on the incentive programs being offered to workers by many construction companies and affiliate organizations. The idea behind such programs is that, by providing various types of rewards for abiding by and maintaining safe environments, construction workers will make every attempt to ensure safe working conditions and decrease the risk of an accident on the work site.

However, many argue such programs are not as beneficial as they may seem. Some claim the programs are a scam - they're simply there to benefit the employees. These critics claim that accidents are unavoidable and providing incentives to avoid them is ludicrous.

Well, we agree that accidents are bound to happen (that's why they're called accidents, right?); however, we disagree that all accidents are unavoidable. We may not be able to eliminate the risk of an accident occuring, but we certainly can decrease it. Thus, we're more partial to Katherine Torres argument that the success of such a program is dependent on the way in which it's implemented.

Now, consider the fact that implementing such programs may actually lessen the likelihood that a mishap at a work site gets reported (if a worker knows a report eliminates his chance of getting his reward, he'll undoubtedly keep his little secret to himself). For this reason, many incentive programs are offered on an individual basis.

Such programs are not intended to eliminate all accidents, but rather their goal is to motivate workers to maintain as safe an environment as possible in order to lessen the odds of an accident occuring.

Yes, such programs cost money. We know many companies and other organizations spend out of their own pocket to offer these incentives; however, the benefits of such far outweigh the risks. In an attempt to not be idealistic, I'll put it out there: employers offer these benefits as a means of saving money; however, these programs also work in such a manner they are essentially responsible for saving lives. The program builds awareness and, ultimately, it instills aspects of safety into the brains of every worker.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on July 16, 2008 (boomark / email).