The company received an official warning from the labour inspectorate and an assignment to adapt the risk inventory and evaluation, and the corresponding action plan. The company asked the occupational health service (OHS) for help drafting an action plan, although it believed the only solution to reduce occupational injuries at work sites would be governmental regulations.

A multi-disciplinary team of an occupational physician, a safety consultant and an organizational psychologist within the OHS was appointed to help with the company’s action plan. As part of an evidence based approach the team retrieved a Cochrane review summarizing the evidence of interventions aimed to reduce occupational injuries in construction work. Below is a short summary of this review including a general background of the way various interventions could work to reduce occupational injuries, the search methods and main results.

Construction workers are frequently exposed to various types of injury-inducing hazards. There are a number of injury prevention interventions, yet their effectiveness is uncertain. To reduce workers’ injuries, different stakeholders in the construction industry (employers, workers, regulatory authorities, suppliers, manufacturers, owners) should implement and adopt safe working methods, workplaces, materials and equipment. Eventually, construction workers and their management should understand safety risks and measures, be motivated to reduce the safety risks, have the skills to adopt safe working methods, and actually adopt safe working methods and conditions. Informational and educational interventions might reduce injuries by fostering new knowledge and skills about safer working methods. Compulsory and persuasive interventions might reduce injuries by changing attitudes of workers and management to use safer working methods and implement safe working circumstances. Facilitative interventions might reduce injuries by supportive activities to implement safe materials, equipment and construction design. Multifaceted interventions might reduce injuries by combining some or all of the abovementioned interventions.

The effects of interventions for preventing injuries in construction workers were assessed by searching the Cochrane Injuries Group’s specialized register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO up to April 2017. The searches were not restricted by language or publication status. Randomized controlled trials, controlled before-after (CBA) studies and interrupted time-series (ITS) of all types of interventions for preventing fatal and non-fatal injuries among workers at construction sites were included.

In total 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Interrupted time-series studies evaluated the effects of the introduction or change of regulations which laid down safety and health requirements for construction sites (N=9), a safety campaign (N=2), a drug-free workplace programme (N=1), a training programme (N=1), and safety inspections (N=1) on fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries. One study evaluated the introduction of occupational health services such as risk assessment and health surveillance, one evaluated a training programme and one evaluated a subsidy for the replacement of scaffoldings.

In companies that received multifaceted interventions non-fatal injuries were reduced. The regulatory interventions at national or branch level did not show any initial or sustained effect on fatal and nonfatal injuries. Inspections, introduction of occupational health services, and safety training showed no effects on occupational injuries.

Introducing regulations alone and regionally oriented interventions may not be effective for preventing occupational injuries in construction workers. However, this might be due to the lack of controlled interrupted time-series design of the studies. Improvements might already occur before the legislation has formally been adopted and thus go unnoticed by this research design. On the other hand, multifaceted and continuing interventions such as a targeted safety campaigns and investment in safer equipment may be effective for reducing injuries. Trying to influence the safety culture and the enforcement of the implementation of safety measures at worksites among management and construction workers remains important, but has not been evaluated in studies.

The evidence informed advice for the company included an action plan that was based on the risk factors of falling from heights and being hit by fallen objects, both related to scaffoldings, and contained: i) a certification process of safe construction and use of scaffoldings, ii) daily work site assessment of the scaffoldings with feedback on shortcomings and iii) regularly updated information and education related to safe working procedures among workers including also all (sub)contractors during monthly toolbox meetings.

Molen HF van der, Basnet P, Hoonakker PLT, Lehtola MM, Lappalainen J, Frings-Dresen MHW, Haslam R, Verbeek JH. Interventions to prevent injuries in construction workers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD006251. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006251.pub4.