Audits by Latino safety liaisons in New Jersey describe frequent hazards at construction work sites

Background. Day laborers working residential and small-scale construction commonly face unsafe conditions, but few interventions have documented and changed specific practices and equipment. Collaborating with the New Labor worker center in New Jersey, Latino construction workers have been trained as “safety liaisons” to recognize and respond to hazardous working conditions. Methods. A model safety audit checklist was developed for safety liaisons to observe, evaluate, and document the presence or absence of 46 safety features, filling out a pocket-sized form. The features, mostly OSHA requirements, included aspects of personal protective equipment, ladders, scaffolds, fall protection, machine hazards, lead paint, and electrical hazards. Results. Over two years, 18 trained safety liaisons completed 171 audits at their own work sites and from the sidewalk at other sites. The initial audit at their own work sites commonly showed low compliance with prescribed safety practices. For example, 50% of work sites had hard hats provided, 40% provided hearing protection, 47% of scaffolds had fall protection, and 42% of sites used appropriate methods for cutting stone. Ladders were safer, with 6 out of 8 safety features present at more than 70% of sites. Some aspects, such as specific electrical equipment, were difficult for liaisons to observe. Audits completed from the sidewalk showed lower rates of safe practices than the liaisons' own jobs. Conclusion. Although the accuracy and completeness of safety audits are limited, observations by trained laborers echo conditions reported by other sources. Safety audit results confirm the importance of improving safety practices in residential construction.