Site managers take on numerous roles as part of their job. To be an effective construction site manager they must influence a positive health and safety culture. The benefits vastly out way the cost and include better productivity, retention of workers, better safety performance and so on. Below are ways a site manager can achieve this and are all covered with our site managers safety scheme course (SMSTS)
Lead by example
Do not expect workers to change their behaviour unless you change yours, hypocrisy is a big thing with workers and one of the main roles is enforcement of the site rules. It would be impossible to enforce rules if you do not follow or champion the rules, with echoes of cases such as Dominic Cummings or Party gate, as examples of leaders not following the rules it would be anarchy on site if managers did the same. With a simple thing such as wearing PPE or following method statements, it would be easier to abide by the rules to give credibility to be able to enforce the rules.
Housekeeping
A clean site is a safe site and site managers need to enforce a good standard of housekeeping at all times. Workers who are provided with a nice clean working area will be more responsive to work requests, as they see you are committed to their health and safety, and in turn will be more likely to follow rules and be more productive. Particular attention to the welfare areas is necessary, as they must be provided for workers, and they need to be suitable. The HSE always look for the potential to cause harm and will easily spot hazards on an untidy site.
Educate
Workers are always looking for guidance and ways to carry out jobs safely. When teaching SMSTS I am always reminding people that site managers work as mentors, and without realising they are looked up to. Teaching people how to work and finding out how best to carry out their work is an essential part of leadership, and can be used to really get the best out of people. Give praise and encouragement to workers and then you will see them work to the best of their ability and feel valued and motivated. Not judging them on their mistakes, but getting them to learn lessons, will help them develop and grow into good workers and form a great team.
Consolation
A good leader knows that the workers all come with experience and knowledge gained over years of working in the construction industry and getting workers to share experiences can help others learn. If you engage all workers at all levels, you will build a good relationship and get the best out of them. If you keep them in the dark, and not use this valuable resource, it will result in workers not feeling valued and create a ‘them and us’ type workforce that could be damaging. Workers have the experience; skills and knowledge of the job so why not use it to your advantage. Be seen about the site ask for their opinions and advice you might be surprised.
Get to know your workers
Poor Mental health in construction is, in my opinion, the biggest challenge in construction and the statistics are quite scary. Be approachable and give education on the subject, this is covered quite extensively in our SMSTS and SSSTS courses, as its been missed in past years. Include it as part of your Toolbox talks and site meetings and place information around the site as you would slips and trips etc. More and more construction companies are investing in mental health first aid courses and welfare programs. As site managers, we can champion and influence a good culture where stigmas and barriers are broken down, and workers start to talk to each other and assist where they can.
Our SMSTS and SSSTS courses run throughout the year and are hosted over zoom.
For more information please contact us. picture 2