Pub. 2 2019-2020 Issue 2

16 Howdid you decide on the topics for the sessions you set up for this year’s UAPA conference? Last year we did a session about what a city inspector or an engineer was looking for in a work zone with respect to traffic control. This yearwedecided tomix it upa littlebit by talking about safety and addiction. What did you want attendees to know by the end of the safety session? KatieWhitedpresenteda sessionabout creat- ing a culture of safety. I attended a presenta- tionshedid in2019and immediately thought it would make a good presentation for the 2020 UAPA conference. I talked with her at lengthafterherpresentationandhavetriedto implementwhat she is teaching at Barricade Services.Onereasonwhysafety ischallenging in the construction industry is because there is so much job turnover. Sometimes it feels like you are starting over every week, but it’s a good, worthwhile challenge. The big question Katie asked us was how you get people to care about safety and be engaged in the process. I wanted people to know what the steps are for making safety part of the culture in their organizations. She taught us specificways to set up a program. It’s possible to tip the safety scale from high risk to low risk by involving everyone, employer and employee, in making safety a high priority, but the process has to start fromthe topof theorganization. Onepointer she gave us is to recognize when people are doing things well instead of focusing on what they aren’t doing well. Can you elaborate a little? Safety culture starts from the top down. It involves the following: • Accountability • Appreciation • Credibility • Engagement • Motivation • Recognition The first step in creating a safety culture is to redefine the concept of a safety triangle: • Environment: Post warning signs and do a good job on housekeeping. Keep work areas clean. • Person: Share skills and knowledge with other employees, listen and help in a crisis, and recognize the contributions of team members. • Behavior: In previous approaches, behav- ior is often neglected.What should be hap- pening?Observeemployees, give feedback, andmodel the behavior you want to see. A safety culture has the following characteristics: • Everyone feels responsible for safety and pursues it on a daily basis. • Peoplegoaboveandbeyondthecall ofduty to identifyunsafe conditions andbehaviors, and they intervene to correct problems. What can you tell us about the addiction session? Paul Randak presented the session about addiction. I have some friends of the family who run outpatient programs, and they were very interested in seeing UAPA do something about addiction in the con- struction industry. Addiction might not be a popular topic, but it is an impor- tant one, and I applaud UAPA for being willing to discuss it in a group setting. Before the conference began, every- one knew addiction would be a sensi- tive subject, especially in the construc- tion industry. I wanted the people in that session who might have addiction issues, or know of someone else who does, to know they can get help and they won’t be judged for needing it. How does addiction affect safety? The people who work in construction operate big, expensive equipment. That fact alone makes it easy for people to get hurt. The construction industry also has a lot of aging workers who have been injured and still work full-time. Pain med- ication and alcohol are both legal, and are widely accepted as a way to control issues such as pain, anxiety and depres- sion. Construction is like other industries in that sometimes, when people use pain medication and alcohol to deal with their issues, they can end up struggling with addiction as a result. What is your role as a leader in promoting safety? Even though our company is a smaller company, I want my employees to look at me and say, “This is important to her. She cares about our safety.”We can always improve and we can always be a better NICOLE SHIELDS BARRICADE SERVICES INDUSTRY CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES Q&A: