Investment in safety has a positive impact on project budgets, schedules and quality, as well as on a contractor’s standing in the industry and ability to contract new work, according to Dodge Data & Analytics’ late-2017 SmartMarket Report. Contractors reporting positive impacts on average see a nearly 5 percent reduction in project schedule and a 4 percent reduction in project costs.
The study, conducted in partnership with United Rentals and the Center for Construction Research and Training, also examines the degree to which contractors are deploying technologies that can help improve jobsite safety. More than two-thirds of contractors that use BIM (69 percent) state that it has a positive impact on project safety, a 27-point increase compared to 2012, due to the ability to conduct clash detection and identify potential site hazards before work begins. Nearly half of contractors (42 percent) use safety inspection checklist apps, while nearly one-quarter use drones to analyze existing conditions.
Another emerging trend explored in the study is Prevention through Design (PtD), an emerging practice of actively considering safety issues during design. While few architects were aware of the formal name for the PtD process, roughly two-thirds already review the schematic design for safety during building operations/maintenance, but only half do similar reviews to optimize construction’s safety.
