Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) unveiled its 2022 Safety Performance Report, an annual, comprehensive study of the impact of the STEP Safety Management System and guide to safety best practices on construction jobsites. STEP is a proven system, more than 30 years old, enabling top-performing members to achieve incident rates 645% safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics construction industry average. The annual study coincides with Construction Safety Week, May 2-6.
“World-class safety and total human health are integral parts of the culture of ABC STEP members companies — and it shows,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development. “STEP is a crucial ‘step’ any company can take to be safer. STEP Diamond members are more than six times safer than the industry average, achieving an 84% reduction in Total Recordable Incident Rates [TRIR]. ABC annually researches what truly makes a contractor safer than others — and this report quantifies those best practices and results. Our people are our greatest asset, and ABC will continue to advance world-class safety for our people.”
ABC’s research on more than a billion hours of work completed by participants in the construction, heavy construction, civil engineering, and specialty trades in 2021 identified the following proactive injury and hazard elimination best practices:
- New hire safety orientation. Companies conducting an in-depth indoctrination of new employees into their safety culture, systems, and processes based on a documented orientation process experience reduced TRIR by 70%. Also, their Days Away Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate decreased by 72%, compared to companies limiting their orientations to basic safety and health compliance topics.
- Substance abuse prevention programs. Where permitted, robust substance abuse prevention programs and policies with provisions for drug and alcohol testing lead to a 70% reduction in TRIR and a 73% reduction in DART rates.
- Toolbox talks. Companies that conduct daily toolbox talks reduce TRIR by 76% and DART rates by 79%, compared to companies that hold them monthly.
- Top management engagement. Employer involvement in safety programs at the highest level of company management produces a 71% reduction in TRIR and DART rates.
ABC has studied how to improve construction jobsite safety through STEP since 1989. Participating ABC member firms measure their safety processes and policies on key components and the criteria for best practices through a detailed questionnaire with the goal of implementing or enhancing safety programs that reduce jobsite incident rates.
The 2022 ABC Safety Performance Report is based on submissions of unique company data gathered from members that deployed STEP in 2021. ABC collects each company’s trailing indicator data as reported on its annual Occupational Safety and Health Administration Form 300A (“Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses”) and its self-assessment of leading indicator practices from its STEP application.
Each data point collected is sorted using statistically valid methodology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for its annual Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Survey and then combined to produce analyses of STEP member performance against BLS industry average incident rates. The report demonstrates that applying world-class processes dramatically improves safety performance among participants, regardless of company size or type of work.
