Improving safety behaviour using goal setting and feedback

Describes the development and effects of behaviourally‐based management techniques in improving construction site safety. In phase one, goal‐setting and feedback methods were developed and tested on six sites in the North West of England. A 40‐week longitudinal research design was adopted in which measures of safety performance were taken before, during and after the application of these methods. The measures included four categories of measurement: access to heights; site housekeeping (site tidiness); scaffolding; and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) – with PPE used as a control. The results showed that: safety behaviour can be objectively and reliably measured; goal setting and feedback can produce large improvements in safety performance; the commitment of site management appears to enhance their effectiveness. Eleven major contractors have provided us with 22 sites which are participating, or have participated, in a larger follow‐up study that aims to assess whether contractors are able to implement these techniques themselves. Early results are highly encouraging, though analysis indicates that the mechanism by which the intervention influences behaviour is less direct than classical goal‐setting theory would suggest.