Rewarding a Job Done Safely

Safety of workers on the construction site is one of the most critical factors when it comes to the completion of a successful contract. “The Prize Predicament,” an article by Bruce Buckley, featured in the August 16th, 2010 issue of the ENR, highlights a very controversial issue facing all of us in the construction industry: Rewarding a Job Done Safely. The reasons are obvious why this could be a well received practice; who wouldn’t want a $20.00 Bass Pro Shops gift card every month if he had no reported injuries during that period? And for the worker who was hurt that month? He’ll have to come out of pocket when he wants to go shopping. The problem becomes apparent when employees start to cover up their injuries just to get the same reward as everyone else. The question lingers: How Much Is Safety Worth? The article highlights a few major upsides and downsides to the use of incentive programs in the construction industry. The use of these programs obviously produces better OSHA numbers, although it promotes underreporting of injuries. A 2007 study done in Missouri came to find that while there were 170 work-related injuries reported to federal officials, emergency rooms counted 800 work related injuries in the same year. There are incentive programs that punish those who report being injured- this means they do not get to partake in whatever the reward is for having a clean safety record. Unfortunately, clause 11c of the OSHA Act makes it clear that it is unlawful for someone to be told they cannot have something (like pizza at the end of the week) because they reported an injury. OSHA is starting to crack down on incentive programs industry wide. There are some companies that are getting desired results from these reward programs for good safety numbers. “Safety Jackpot,” an incentive program employed by a company out of Missouri, states that its construction clients are experiencing an average incident reduction rate of 57%. In 2004, a study done by Paul