RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To design a program evaluation to determine the effectiveness of a novel safety and health program in residential construction. STUDY DESIGN: The overall program evaluation incorporates five separate studies with designs including: pre-test-post-test control group designs for determining program effects on safety culture and safe work behaviors, and cohort designs to assess longitudinal changes in injury rates and workers compensation costs. RESULTS: Preliminary data from 252 respondents who completed a two-page questionnaire after attending an initial training session indicated that the innovative HomeSafe Program has been well received. Companies who have joined the program to date are not representative of the broader population of businesses in the residential construction industry, as they generally are larger with heightened concerns for health and safety. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluating a safety and health program being introduced into the dynamic residential construction industry presents numerous challenges which are discussed.
RESUMEN
The purpose of this study was to describe the development and implementation of an on-site, behavior-based safety audit based on a safety program designed specifically to reduce injuries and fatalities in the residential construction industry. The audit was used to assess safety hazards and safety compliance on residential construction work sites. Safety behaviors were scored as all-or-none. A high score was related to high safety compliance. A total of 195 audits were performed on residential construction companies from varying trades. Analysis of mean total scores indicated that companies that had received some form of safety training scored significantly higher than companies that had not received any (P<0.01). Analysis of mean total scores between company trades indicated that masonry/stucco application companies had significantly lower scores than most other trades represented (P<0.01). Challenges in designing, administering and analyzing the safety audits are discussed.
RESUMEN
Workers in the residential construction industry face unacceptably high risk of injury, disability and death. Attempts to implement comprehensive health and safety programs in this industry have met with little success. The HomeSafe Pilot Program is a novel residential construction safety program developed and sponsored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Region VIII and the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver (HBA). Test subjects represent over 7475 persons employed in residential construction in the six county Denver Metro area of Colorado. The HomeSafe Pilot Program includes primary behavioral, engineering and administrative interventions to improve safe work practices in residential construction. It has some unique features of brevity, specificity and incentives not seen elsewhere in the construction industry. Its overall goal is to guide residential construction companies along a path of progressive development of comprehensive safety and health programs. The HomeSafe Pilot Program is introduced and compared to other safety and health program models developed by OSHA and the HBA. This study began in January 1997 and will continue through the millennium.