Tips to Mitigate 5 Common Jobsite Distractions

By Vern Orpin

From physical to mental, distractions are everywhere, and how people handle them can mean life or death—construction jobsites are no different. It is estimated that 80% of industrial accidents and 90% of construction accidents are caused wholly or in part by distractions and human error (according to Heinrich’s Domino Model). Some are the same, some are unique to construction, but all distractions have the potential to change outcomes. That’s why it’s imperative to not only recognize jobsite distractions, but also to build resilience into our systems to have tolerance for all sorts of variables and overcome distractions that lead to unwanted results.

Even the best safety plans, personal protective equipment and training will not be effective in preventing workplace accidents, especially on construction sites, if workers aren’t attentive, alert and consciously working to avoid distractions. Like many companies, the organizational culture at JE Dunn leads the efforts against weeding out workplace distractions. It begins and ends with safety of our people and the belief that everyone goes home better than they arrived. The following list offers some common jobsite distractions our teams face today and how we mitigate them.

Smartphones

Effects: While smartphones and devices help projects be more connected than ever, they present a distraction to workers on the jobsite. Not only do they interrupt thought and workflow, but they also create an opportunity to lose focus on the task at hand, possibly resulting in injury or causation for poor work product. Just as off the jobsite, the biggest risk devices pose is that people don’t pay attention to where they are headed while looking down at their screens.

How we mitigate: To limit being bombarded by constant distractions from consuming email, Gchats, text messages, Facebook messages, Instagram live and disruptive co-workers, JE Dunn jobsites align electronic usage during scheduled breaks, lunch time and in safe work areas. We use written policies and training to set the expectations and boundaries, visual standards as reminders and a community effort to enforce.

Multitasking

Effects: Failure to meet goals, deadlines and critical milestones can throw off the entire project. Multitasking leads to disruptions in work flow, sequence of activities, to not having—or not sticking to—a plan. All can have negative consequences to others’ work and commitment to the job at hand.

How we mitigate: This is where prioritization and disciplined project planning meet one another.

• Start every project with early planning, e.g., trade partner prequalification process, review and implement prevention through design concepts, initiate pre-construction/pre-installation meetings.
• To be sure the entire team knows what is coming and remains on the same page throughout the project, we maintain a six-week look-ahead schedule, along with our master project schedule.
• Hold weekly foreman meetings, daily Lean stand-up meetings, tool box talks, planned and unplanned refocus meetings and job safety analyses to help workers think through their responsibilities for the day (force a pause).
• Every day, every trade worker is accountable for assessing and managing construction safety risks using a personal safety plan.
• Use a task management software.

Clutter (poor housekeeping & material management)

Effects: One of the most common distractions are those caused by poor housekeeping practices and failure to manage equipment and flow of materials. These things have the real possibility to change the risk profile of a project. Most often, clutter can lead to slips, trips, falls, double handling of materials, awkward postures/positions and the inevitable creep of inefficiencies.

How we mitigate: Like many industry leaders, we know that good housekeeping practices start well before trade partners show up to the job.

• Inquire if a trade partner has a written housekeeping program within the prequalification process.
• Define clear expectations for material management, e.g., storage and handling, deliveries, control and monitoring, followup and verification.
• Discuss and implement management plans and practices used to mitigate: develop logistics plans, site-wide housekeeping plans, cord management plans, clean as you go and “nothing hits the ground.”
• Increase frequency of walks and inspections on job with key stakeholders—people who can make immediate change.
• Right-size the number, size and type of trash outlets you have for the site.

Physical distractions – people, equipment, machinery and jobsite tours

Effects: The biggest effect of people, equipment, machinery and holding jobsite tours is the obvious— exposure, noise and curiosity. From the disruption of having visitors walking through an active site to the curiosity of who is coming through, jobsite tours often result in the team losing focus and stopping what they are doing out of curiosity.

How we mitigate:

• Ensure the site orientation process for both employees and visitors covers all relevant hazards and risks.
• Hold regular planning and coordination meetings to talk through changes in the site’s risk profile – emphasis on physical distractions.
• Utilize project planning tools, such as P6, to avoid scheduling conflicts and potential trade stacking.
• While tours are part of the job, we try to minimize them during “normal” hours. When possible, we schedule them after hours to reduce the disruption to production; if they must be done during the day, we let all workers know when tours will be coming through, so they can plan accordingly.

Mental distractions and inattention

Effects: Have you ever driven your vehicle somewhere and asked yourself how you got there? Or, better yet, operated a backhoe, loader or crane and not recall half of your movements and accomplishments? Unfortunately, mental distractions can lead to inattention and negative outcomes. We believe mental distractions and errors predictably arise out of cognitive and memory biases. The traditional management approach of perfecting the execution of tasks limits our effectiveness, because it presumes that human beings are predictable and controllable through training, policies and procedures. It forgets that human beings are influenced by the cross linkages of environment, culture and the aches and pains of simply being human. It presumes that all outcomes are linear.

How we mitigate:

• Implement and promote a strong safety culture – a culture of caring.
• Increase engagement at all levels of the project team. From leadership involvement to the promotion of safety leaders in the field, we use a responsibility and accountability matrix to help drive strong engagement and inclusion of team members from top to bottom.
• Provide regular training and awareness opportunities, as well as regularly socialize these messages using visual aids and visual standards.
• Hold refocus meetings to intentionally pause the work and remove unwanted distractions.
• Utilize a personal safety plan for workers to review possible error precursors, distractions in work environment (“things that can hurt me”) and provide a tool to counter mental distractions and inattention.

While this list is brief, it’s important to build awareness and competence by learning to spot distractions and stop unintentional consequences that come from distractions in the construction environment.

Vern Orpin is regional director of field operations Midwest at JE Dunn.