Commentary: Changing Behavior that Leads to Bad Choices

GroundBreak Carolinas is always looking for industry experts to weigh-in on important topics such as workforce development, safety and the economy. Responding to this safety related question is Tony Morris, safety manager for CarolinaPower, a leading electrical contractor with four offices in South Carolina.

The construction industry’s approach to safety is beginning to shift after many years of being compliance-driven.  What all is your company doing to effect change in actual behavior? 

CarolinaPower rolled out a Behavior-Based Safety program to its employees and subcontractors at the beginning of last year. The program is focused on getting to the root cause of incidents and changing behavior that leads to bad choices. A key component of our Behavior-Based Safety initiative is to continuously ask “Why?” regarding what motivates the behavior of those around you – whether on the jobsite, in the office, at home, or play.

We have been purposeful about keeping this concept top-of-mind by creating eye-catching posters, sending out regular employee communications, rewarding positive behavior, and more. At our annual company picnic – an all-day event for the entire family to enjoy – we gave out Carolina Power branded, Behavior-Based Safety themed t-shirts to our 200-plus attendees, including children of all ages. The cleverly designed t-shirts made it easy to spot colleagues and their kids, while further engaging our employees and spreading an important message outside our company walls. 

We are extremely proud of our overall safety program, which is designed to keep our employees focused on working safely all day, every day.