Pete Kines has an MSc in psychology and PhD in civil engineering, and is a Senior Researcher at the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Denmark. He has over 25 years’ experience in the field of practical accident and safety research – particularly in the construction industry. He has developed a number of tools including: a free smartphone app, ‘Safety Observer’, for carrying out and automatically documenting systematic safety rounds on construction sites; a ‘Toolbox Training’ program for construction site foremen; and a construction site safety culture questionnaire (https://nfa.dk/nosacq). He has expertise in strategies such as ‘Vision Zero’, and with practical and proactive leading indicators (KPIs) for safety in construction. He has also expertise in accident investigation, crisis management, psychological traumatology, risk behavior and risk management as well as occupational injury epidemiology. Pete is also a musician (percussionist) in several orchestra and bands, as well as a football referee.

Session 2: Leadership
Title: “Leading indicators for safety, health and wellbeing at work in construction – Focus on people”

Abstract:

Traditional indicators of occupational safety and health (OSH) are often reactive, negative and with a long follow-up time, such as accidents, injuries, sickness-absence, ill health and disease. There is a need for leading indicators and proactive key performance indicators (KPIs) of safety, health and wellbeing as a supplement to these lagging indicators. This presentation deals with 14 proactive leading indicators for safety, health and wellbeing. Information was gathered through a literature study and a knowledge-transfer-and-exchange (research to practice) process with experience from industries, sector specific organizations and OSH professionals from around the world. Indicators were selected that would be of practical use and value for companies in e.g. proactively gauging progress and benchmarking with others. The indicators are relevant for each of the three facets of safety, health and wellbeing, and how they each are ‘integrated’ in regular business processes. They are outlined in one-page fact-sheets with descriptions of the key concepts, aims, good practices and examples of how to measure the indicator. The indicators deal with integrating safety, health and wellbeing in visible leadership commitment and worker involvement, onboarding, refresher training, procurement, regular briefings, risk assessments, innovation and change, learning from unplanned events etc. An example is an indicator for following-up and learning from pre-work briefings (e.g. toolbox meetings in the construction sector), which are short, regular discussions between leaders and workers held directly before work tasks begin or after an incident. Three proposals for measuring the indicators are provided, allowing for adaption to the sector and size of an enterprise, and which can be used for benchmarking and as proactive key performance indicators (KPIs).