Strategies to reduce safety violations for working from heights in construction companies: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundSafety measures should be applied to reduce work-related fatal and non-fatal fall injuries. However, according to the labor inspectorate, more than 80% of Dutch construction sites violate safety regulations for working from heights. To increase compliance with safety regulations, employers and workers have to select, implement and monitor safety measures. To facilitate this behavioral change, stimulating knowledge awareness and personalized feedback are frequently advocated behavior change techniques. For this study, two behavior change strategies have been developed in addition to the announcement of safety inspections by the labor inspectorate. These strategies consist of 1) face-to-face contacts with safety consultants and 2) direct mail with access to internet facilities. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these two strategies on the safety violations for working from heights, the process and the cost measures.Methods/DesignThis study is a block randomized intervention trial in 27 cities to establish the effects of the face-to-face guidance strategy (N = 9), a direct mailing strategy (N = 9) and a control condition of no guidance (N = 9) on safety violations to record by labor inspectors after three months. A process evaluation for both strategies will be performed to determine program implementation (reach, dose delivered and dose received), satisfaction, knowledge and perceived safety behavior. A cost analysis will be performed to establish the financial costs for both strategies. The present study is in accordance with the CONSORT statement.DiscussionThis study increases insight into performing practice-based randomized controlled trials. The outcome will help to evaluate the effect of two guidance strategies on safety violations. If these strategies are effective, implementation of these strategies through the national institute of safety and health or labor inspectorate can take place to guide construction companies in complying with safety regulations.Trial registrationNTR 4298 on 29-nov-2013.

Epidemiology of musculoskeletal injury in the California film and motion picture industry

“…Moreover, FMP employees, particularly those involved with set design, are constantly working in new and changing environments, decreasing their familiarity with their surroundings and increasing chances of falls. The increased number of falls in the FMP industry may be a reason that fractures are more common injuries than in CA industries in general (13, 14). …”

National evaluation of strategies to reduce safety violations for working from heights in construction companies: results from a randomized controlled trial

“…A three-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) was performed to compare the effectiveness of two behavior change strategies: a face-to-face guidance strategy and a direct mailing strategy, with a control condition. For the description of the design of the safety intervention and the two guidance strategies, in compliance with the CONSORT statement, we refer to [ 14 ]. No changes to methods or outcomes after trial reporting [ 14 ] and commencement occurred.…”

“…For the description of the design of the safety intervention and the two guidance strategies, in compliance with the CONSORT statement, we refer to [ 14 ]. No changes to methods or outcomes after trial reporting [ 14 ] and commencement occurred. The reporting of this study adheres to the CONSORT guideline for reporting randomized trials.…”

“…The ethics committee of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam confirmed that the study did not meet the criteria of the ‘Medical-scientific research with human participants Act’ and therefore no ethics approval was required. For the full description of the design of the safety intervention and the two guidance strategies, we refer to [ 14 ].…”

“…The safety measures covered by the two guidance strategies were based on the inspection module of the labor inspectorate and the guidelines of the Dutch construction safety and health institute Arbouw. For this study, two behavior change strategies were developed in collaboration with employers’ organizations and unions to reduce the number of safety violations during the installation and use of rolling scaffolds, ladders and stairs among painters, in addition to the announcement of safety inspections by the labor inspectorate (interventions are described in detail in [ 14 ]). No blinding for the assignment of interventions was possible.…”