Performance and evaluation of small construction safety training simulations

Area of Science:

• Occupational Safety and Health
• Construction Safety Training
• Injury Prevention

Background:

• Construction industry faces high rates of back and fall-related injuries.
• These injuries result in significant workers' compensation costs and lost productivity.
• There is a need for effective interventions to reduce injury susceptibility in construction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a safety training intervention using simulation exercises.
• The intervention targeted small construction companies (<=10 employees) in Kentucky.
• Focus was on the performance and evaluation of simulation exercises, not injury prevention effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• Six latent-image narrative simulation exercises were developed.
• Exercises focused on preventing back and fall injuries, emphasizing economic impacts and prevention strategies.
• Participants included owners, supervisors, and employees; data collected on performance and perceptions of training quality, realism, and applicability.

Main Results:

• Mean performance scores were 83.3% for back injury simulations and 85.2% for fall injury simulations.
• Mean total evaluation scores were 83.1% for back and 85.5% for fall simulations.
• Quality and realism scores were higher than applicability scores.

Conclusions:

• Simulation exercises were positively received as safety training.
• Intervention content may be more effective when tailored to specific construction trades due to heterogeneous work classifications.
• Further research could explore trade-specific intervention designs.