Qualifications of Safety Professionals in the U.S. Construction Industry

Industry standards vary when hiring a safety professional for the commercial construction industry. Commercial construction companies consider national certifications, professional experience, field experience, and educational credentials when considering viable candidates for construction safety positions. This paper presents the finding of a study conducted to identify qualifications needed for construction safety professionals. Quantitative and qualitative data collected from U.S. commercial construction companies were analyzed to determine the qualifications needed for construction safety positions and establish consistency of value placed on the identified qualifications. Findings of the study improve understanding of the needed qualifications of construction safety professionals and can lead to more effective construction safety education through enhanced training methods and procedures. Introduction Disproportionately high incidence of accidents and fatalities has earned the construction industry the unfortunate and unenviable reputation of being one of the most dangerous occupations. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2006, 1,258 (22%) of the 5,703 fatal work injuries in the U.S. were in the construction sector, and that same year, the construction industry accounted for 10.4 percent of the 3.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries in the United States. Safety Professionals In an effort to mitigate injuries and fatalities, construction employers are taking on the responsibility of ensuring a safe working environment for their employees. In this effort, construction organizations have recognized the increasing importance of risk management, and many companies have established risk management departments to control the exposure to risk. However, there is no one standard set forth detailing the qualifications of risk management and/or safety professionals in the construction industry. In example, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals has attempted to set safety professional standards through certifications. Certifications for a construction health and safety technician require candidates to have: A high school diploma or GED and 3 years of construction experience, where at least 35% of the work includes safety duties or, An associate’s degree or higher, and 2 years of construction experience with at least 35% of the work including safety duties or, Any Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited safetyrelated associate degree or higher and 1 year of construction work where safety is at least 35% of the job duties. The board of safety professional guidelines detail basic requirements but specific safety duties, and or degrees are not defined. Other certifying organizations detail similar requirements but P ge 22206.2 again give little as to specific requirements. Thus, in an attempt to determine the qualifications of safety professionals in the commercial construction industry, the authors have gone to the source. To the companies that hire and employ construction safety professionals that perform risk management functions on a daily basis. Objectives The primary objective of this research was to: 1) Collect quantitative data to analyze and identify the qualifications needed for construction safety personnel in the U.S. commercial construction industry and to establish consistency of value placed on the identified qualifications. 2) Collect qualitative data to identify the qualifications needed for construction safety personnel in the U.S. commercial construction industry and to establish consistency of value placed on the identified qualifications. Methodology A survey instrument (Appendix A) was developed to quantitatively and qualitatively identify the qualifications needed for construction safety personnel in the U.S. commercial construction industry and to establish consistency of value placed on the identified qualifications. Research study participants were a representative convenience sample of construction safety professionals employed by construction entities located within the Pacific Northwest regions of the United States. General contractor and construction management entities that were listed in the Engineering News Record, Top 400 Contractors in 2010 were targeted for the study because an assumption was made that companies listed on the ENR 400 list would be large enough to have dedicated safety programs that employ full time safety professionals. All of the construction entities participating in the survey agreed to assist in the survey process by ensuring that the employees completed and returned the survey in a timely manner. No minimum sample size was required because no specific statistical testing was to be performed. However, to advance the validity of the findings, an attempt was made to obtain as large a number of responses as possible, thus the survey link was provided to 87 safety professionals. Quantitative Analysis Completed surveys were analyzed to ensure all of the responses were completed and that the responses were within the range of responses allowed in the survey instrument. An initial survey response of 69 was received and 100% (69 of 69) met the study criteria for data analysis. All resulting data gathered from the completed surveys was organized and converted into an electronic format for data analysis. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted on the resulting data to identify the qualifications needed for construction safety personnel in the U.S. commercial construction industry and to establish consistency of value placed on the identified qualifications. Calculations performed on the survey data consisted of the summing of the responses of the surveyed participants and determining answers with the highest mean score. Findings The following are the survey questions and the responses for each question. P ge 22206.3 Question 1. Does your company employ full time construction safety professionals? Question 2. Does your company employ full time safety professionals for the majority of your projects? Question 3. When hiring a safety professional do you prefer to place a current employee in the safety professional position or hire a new employee to fill the position as a safety professional? Question 4. When considering an applicant for a position as a safety professional, which is considered more valuable, construction experience or formal education (i.e. college degree)?