Construction Safety Week 2021

Construction Safety Week 2021 was held on May 3-7. We at Gilbane were excited to have the opportunity to serve as chair company and reinforce our commitment to building a stronger and safer industry as we celebrate our 150^th anniversary this year.

Safety Week 2021: Holistic Safety

Our commitment to staying safe and focused on the job is a point of pride and strength that runs throughout our entire industry. Safety Week 2021 brings us together to honor that commitment, and bring to light the importance of promoting holistic safety in the workplace, especially on construction sites. The theme for 2021 was “Holistic Safety – Be Present. Be Focused. Be Safe.” Now more than ever, we must strive to create both physically and mentally safe work environments. Safety extends beyond personal protective equipment (PPE) and safe work practices, and this year we focus on prioritizing both physical and psychological safety in the workplace.

Being safe means paying attention to both mind and body and focusing on the tasks in the present tense. That means, Construction Safety Week 2021 took the time to ask: What do you do to help yourself and your team stay focused? How do outside stresses and distractions impact workplace safety? We want to bring our authentic selves to work every day and feel ‘‘psychologically safe” to talk about issues that might not be job related, yet affect our total wellbeing.

Safety Week Daily Themes

Each day of the week was focused on a topic that reinforces our commitment to safety as project teams, companies, and as an entire construction industry:

Monday: Be Present. Be Focused.

Mental awareness is critically important for construction workers to stay safe. Mental distractions can rob a worker of their focus and lead to serious or deadly accidents. It is critically important that workers watch out for each other and learn to recognize the signs of someone who may be struggling.

Tuesday: Healthy Mind. Healthy Body.

Being safe means recognizing how important mental health is to everyone’s overall safety. From suicide to distractions that lead to devastating accidents, it is important that we all recognize the importance of total wellbeing. When workers are physically and mentally safe, everyone wins.

Wednesday: Be Relentless- Fundamentals.

Preventing injuries means relentlessly paying attention to risk. Using mind and body to always make safety number one. Executing the fundamentals is critically important. It starts by wearing full PPE 100 percent of the time. It means going back to the basics by learning and embracing critically important safety practices such as proper fall protection.

Thursday: Be Safe. Be Rested.

Safety is a value that we all need to practice not just in the workplace, but at home too. From fatigue to drug abuse, we need to embrace safety in everything we do. The team around you is there to assist and resources are available that can help if you step forward and commit to holistic safety.

Friday: Thank You.

The COVID 19 pandemic caused unprecedented actions taken by the men and women in our industry by implementing protocols not seen mainstream before. Our crews continued building not knowing how the pandemic would affect them or their loved ones both physically or mentally. The construction industry has seen an increase in stress levels without the pandemic and now more than ever is it important to embrace the aspect of mental health and well-being. Thank you to our industry for their heroic efforts this past year!