ENR has a good article this week about safety incentives titled “The Prize Predicament.” The article reminded me of my years running a GC firm. We always struggled with how to lower our Workman’s Compensation costs, so we focused on our lost time injuries and recordable accidents. Like many firms, we set up incentives to try to motivate everyone to work safer. We promised rewards for better numbers.

We got our better numbers, though I doubt we improved safety performance much. We inadvertently instituted a culture of under-reporting. As time progressed, we understood that minor incidents were going unreported, buy hey, our numbers were better. As I read the ENR article, I got the sense that we weren’t alone.

OSHA seems to be taking aim on these safety incentive programs for that reason. By penalizing employees who report accidents, actual workplace safety heads in the wrong direction. While some firms certainly make efforts to run the incentive programs ethically and effectively, I think that the overall approach is wrong-headed. Paying people a little extra to do what they should be doing anyway doesn’t pass the commonsense test.

Effective supervision and management can improve jobsite safety by establishing a culture of safety. One time programs and easy fixes won’t work. The photo above shows BR Kreider and Sons, an excavation firm I’ve worked with for years, installing a water line. They’ve made jobsite safety a priority throughout their company for many years and have a good, safe culture.

It’s too easy for management to develop safety programs to motivate employees like training animals. A more all-encompassing approach, one which actually changes the culture of the jobsite, will be the only thing that really works. Unfortunately, it’s easier to make up slogans and programs than to change company culture.