Every worksite’s got at least one worker who behaves like he’s ten feet tall and bulletproof. And according to an article in OH&S Magazine, “when you feel like you can handle anything, then you end up developing a blind spot to things that can put you in the hospital.”

And all it takes to turn an ‘invincible’ employee into an injury statistic is a single stupid mistake

The article’s by Cheri Generaux, SafeStart’s construction industry specialist. Cheri uses her knowledge of human factors and unique industry experience to reduce injuries for hundreds of construction companies across North America.

Cheri’s pretty familiar with ‘stupid’ mistakes because she hears about them from construction professionals all the time (and even admits to making them herself). She says that:

When safety professionals call something a stupid mistake, they’re almost always referring to some error or slip-up that someone made when he should have known better and could have avoided if he’d been paying attention or thinking about the consequences. We call them “stupid” because they happen when we’re trying to complete a task that’s usually quite simple and that we’ve done a thousand times before without getting hurt. The mistakes seem obvious and easily avoidable in hindsight, but I can’t recall the last time I went a week without hearing a safety manager lament a stupid mistake that led to someone getting hurt.

Also from the article:

I recently spoke with a director of EH&S who said, “When we are working on hazardous or complex tasks, we do a risk assessment, job safety analysis, and a toolbox talk about it. However, my guys are getting hurt while walking across the site. They simply step on a rock and roll their ankle.”

If that sounds familiar then you should read the full article on the OH&S website to learn how to address injuries that result from workers making simple mistakes on a construction site.

You can also share your own construction injury story with Cheri or contact her for advice on what the safest construction companies are doing to reduce worker injuries.