Does sending Safety Toolbox Talks by text message to Residential Construction Supervisors increase Safety Meeting Compliance?

Abstract

Construction is one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. Within the industry, residential construction workers are at elevated risk for worksite injury and death, yet are rarely the focus of safety research and intervention. Conducting regular safety meetings has been identified as a key practice of construction companies with lower injury rates, and thus, there is a need for evidence-based tactics that increase compliance with this preventive practice. The current project was designed to evaluate whether distributing construction safety toolbox talks about workplace fatalities to supervisors by mobile phone would increase their compliance with the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OR-OSHA) standard for conducting at least one safety meeting each month. A sample of residential construction supervisors in Oregon (N = 56) were recruited and received a link to a toolbox talk by text message every two weeks for three months. Evaluation surveys were completed by supervisors before and after participating. Supervisors’ adherence to the OR-OSHA safety meeting standard improved by 19.39% during the text message period. However, self-reported safety communication quality and supervisor-rated employee safety performance did not significantly change. Supervisors indicated that they generally appreciated the mobile toolbox talk format, would like to receive them in the future, and would recommend them to other supervisors. Mobile delivery of toolbox talks may increase construction supervisors’ compliance with safety meeting standards. However, studies that replicate or extend this research are needed to confirm the safety meeting effect observed, and further advance efforts to reduce injury rates in the residential construction industry.