Abstract

Adaptation of Safety Leadership Training for Small Companies in a High Risk Industry: Foundations for Safety Leadership for Residential Construction (FSL4Res)

Bradley Evanoff, MD, MPH¹, Anna Kinghorn, MA², Ann Marie Dale, PhD, OTR/L², Barry Stelzer, MS CSP CHST³, Linda Goldenhar, PhD⁴ (1)School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, (2)School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, (3)Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council , (4)CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training

APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background and Objective
Work injuries and fatalities remain unacceptably high in residential construction, where small employers often lack safety resources and training. Improving the safety leadership skills of construction foremen is an important step to improving workplace safety culture and practices. This project adapted the existing, successful Foundations for Safety Leadership (FSL) program to create the FSL4Res, a version specific to the unique hazards and organizational challenges of residential construction.

Methods
The FSL uses animated real-world scenarios and interactive discussion to teach six key safety leadership skills. To develop a version of the FSL program that addresses the unique needs of residential construction, we conducted a systematic needs assessment to identify training needs, contractor capabilities, and the learning preferences of foremen. We convened a Curriculum Development Team of academics and industry experts to make program adaptations, and used a formal adaptation framework to describe modifications to the original FSL, including content modifications, contextual modifications, and organizational levels at which modifications occurred.

Results
Stakeholder interviews included contractors, unions, and safety trainers (n=47), found that the FSL is effective and well regarded, and suggested adaptations to increase its usability and uptake in the residential sector. Modifications included development of new teaching scenarios specific to residential construction, altering delivery format to allow multiple shorter training sessions instead of a single 2.5-3 hour session, and changes in format to facilitate training at the worksite as well as in a classroom or formal course setting.

Conclusions
Based on the needs assessment, we created three new scenarios based on fall prevention in residential construction. We also developed trainer guides, and are working with CPWR and national contractor associations to publicize and disseminate the FSL4Res. Future work will include surveying and interviewing residential contractors to evaluate the usability, reach, and uptake of the adapted program.