How construction supervisors can improve their safety leadership skills

Annually, thousands of construction supervisors take OSHA's 30-hour outreach-training program to learn how to identify and control occupational hazards. However, until recently it did not include content on leadership.

Employee engagement, active listening

To address this training gap, a NIOSH-funded project at CPWR–The Center for Construction Research and Training developed a 2.5-hour module designed to teach critical safety leadership skills. The Foundations for Safety Leadership training module focuses on five leadership skills: (1) leading by example, (2) engaging and empowering team members, (3) active listening, (4) developing team members through teaching, coaching, and feedback, and (5) recognizing team members. It consists of presentation slides, videos, case study scenarios, and facilitator and student guides.

The project, described in Safety Matters, August 2018, involved a collaboration between CPWR researchers and scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business and University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. They worked with a curriculum development team consisting of OSHA outreach trainers, construction workers, safety and health professionals, safety climate specialists, and union representatives.

Since January 2017, OSHA has offered the new training module as an elective in its 30-hour Construction Industry Outreach Training Program, and hundreds of companies offer it as a stand-alone training course. To date, more than 10,000 construction leaders have taken the training.

This project will also be featured in the NIOSH Expanding Research Partnerships Webinar Series this November.