In Orlando, Florida, there is a $2.3 billion, 21-mile, I-4 highway improvement project that has been underway since 2015. It is such a traffic headache that we try to avoid it as much as we can when we are driving across Florida.

There have been five fatalities since the project began. All five of the fatalities have been “struck-by” incidents. The most recent occurred about October 1st, when a beam slipped off a piece of equipment and struck a worker on the head. One person was hit by a dump truck. Another died when he was hit by a piece of steel equipment. The fourth person died when a rebar cage fell on him, and the fifth person was killed when he was hit in the head by a pipe.

All construction was suspended to review the safety plans and to get everyone refocused on working safely. OSHA and safety experts have been involved in the analyses, “Until the root causes are determined, girder erection and installation are suspended.”

Suspending the work to get everyone focused, bringing in safety experts, and seeking root causes are a start, but they will not, in themselves, stop the fatal accidents. There is so much more going on that there are no root causes. The pressures to get the projects going again are intense.

There’s A Deeper Pattern…

Every fatality was a “struck-by” incident, which indicates that things are moving when the incidents happened. On projects like this one, there is huge pressure to keep on schedule and get the work done. The pressure to move too fast is great. Yet, as these incidents show, going faster results in things going more slowly, and people getting killed. Hurrying is a big problem!

Each person needs to be looking out for the others, talking together about how to do the job without anyone getting hurt, sharing ideas about how to do the work more effectively and safely. Supervisors and managers need to be talking with the people about getting the jobs done effectively and safely. Everyone needs to be kept informed on the status of the work and the details for each day’s work.

Toolbox meetings are a critical element in this. Everyone needs to be able to shut down a job if they see that there are safety issues that need to be addressed. Coming together to form safety teams to help build the focus on specific tasks would be useful. Building an environment where everyone is treated with respect and is open to having people speak up, be able to ask questions and look for better ways is important.

But working this way will be a challenge for them. They have many separate contractors, many people of different skill levels, and a worksite spread over 21 miles.

When I have talked with people in other situations about working this way, I often get funny looks. They tell me that they do not have time to work this way. They have to get the job done!

My belief is that they really do have to take the time to work this way because, in my experience, working this way is the fastest, safest and least costly way to get the work done. Just think about all the time that is lost and distractions that occur in investigations, dealing with OSHA, job shutdowns, fighting the unions, dealing with the lawyers, the media and the families that have suffered a loss of a loved one.

Working fast, ignoring the people, taking short-cuts and cutting corners all lead to higher costs, project delays and more people getting hurt. Call me 716-622-6467 and let’s talk deeper-pattern safety!