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One of the things I will do in this space is report on what I learn companies are doing. Early this week I had the opportunity to interview a field operations manager for a construction firm with about 30 crews (about 160 people) whose principal role is framing, siding, and roofing. The company was able to cut lost time from 729 person-days in 2002 to 92 person-days in 2003. Recordable incidents dropped 71% from 59 to 17. Is it a fluke? Maybe. You decide. Here's what they did.

They designed a system that is coherent. The interests of the individuals are in alignment with the interests of the company and the customers. They are careful what they measure. They tie rewards directly to the behavior they want. They made safety a team sport.

• Crews are rewarded for working safely as the precondition for working productively. Safety is the quid pro quo. Only safe crews get in the bonus pool.
• A company executive drops in on every crew on a regular basis to perform a 100-item check on their behavior. Just two or three items out of order can put their eligibility at risk.
• They track violations of the safety policy. Those numbers are down by more than their lost time is down. By the way, not reporting a violation has more severe consequences to the individual and the team than letting it go.
• They are serious about violations. If a crew member is working on a roof without fall-protection the crew leader will put the individual on written warning. A second offense gets a three-day suspension. A third offense results in termination.
• People accumulate "safe working points" on an individual and crew basis. Sweeteners are added for continued safe work. These points can be exchanged for valuable gifts. The company's budget for this is increasing as people string together long stretches of working without injuries.

In the conversation we wondered together if their approach will continue to produce improvements in the safety record. Another 87% reduction seems too much to hope for. They are still not satisfied where they are. They seem intent on making another significant reduction. In the words of the head of operations, "Safety is our way of life."

My take:
This company will continue to improve. Their commitment to safety is at all levels in the company. They've done an exceptional job of adopting a behavioral safety approach and are reaping the rewards of it. However, I don't see how their current approach will get them to an injury-free environment. They need to systematically reduce the exposure to risk not just work safely in the presence of risk.