Safety management
Construction companies use a wide range of safety practices as part of their safety management programmes, with an increasing emphasis on creating a safety culture throughout the organisation.
Some of the practices that can be employed on projects to manage safety include:
- Involving workers in the safety process, through toolbox talks, safety briefings, site inductions, offering safety incentives, and so on.
- Analysis of potential site safety hazards during the preconstruction phase.
- Adopting the principles of prevention: avoid risks where possible; evaluate those risks that cannot be avoided; put in place measures that control them at source.
- Encouraging an open-door policy for workers to report accidents, injuries, hazards and near misses.
- Conducting thorough near miss and incident investigations to ensure effective action is taken.
- Employing specific personnel assigned to manage safety.
- Designating health and safety duties to on-site staff, such as a first aider.
- Conducting regular project safety audits.
- Developing a site-specific health and safety plan.
- Site specific training programmes for workers and subcontractors.
- Proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Safety management is a very broad subject. Some of the articles on Designing Buildings Wiki that provide an introduction to the practices, principles and regulations involved include:
- As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP).
- Briefback.
- CDM.
- Construction health risks.
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH).
- Emergency plan.
- Environmental health.
- Health and safety.
- Health and safety at Work etc act 1974.
- Health and safety consultant.
- Health and Safety Executive.
- Health and safety file.
- Health and safety inspector.
- Health and safety policy.
- Incident reporting system.
- Injuries on construction sites.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
- Manual handling assessment chart.
- Method statement.
- Near miss.
- Personal protective equipment.
- Pre-construction information.
- Principal contractor.
- Principal designer.
- Project risk.
- Proximity warning systems.
- Reporting accidents and injuries on construction sites.
- Risk assessment.
- Risk management.
- Risk of rats in construction.
- Safety.
- Safety as a Service.
- Safety audit.
- Safety briefing.
- Site induction.
- Site inspection.
- Site safety.
- Toolbox talk.
- What is a hazard?
- Work at height regulations.
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
For a full list, see Health and Safety / CDM.
[edit] External references
Featured articles and news
We're expanding our collaborative mission by launching DB Intelligence, an exclusive market research advisory panel. Built environment professionals can now get paid to share their expertise on industry trends, products and services.
Panel members receive direct financial incentives for participating in research projects like short surveys, 1-2-1 interviews and focus groups. Register today to shape the future of the construction sector.
Building Safety Wiki Interviews
Chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation.
Planning condition discharge in England and Wales
A brief exoplanation from a building compliance expert, with further links.
Overheating guidance and tools for building designers
Guidance for dealing with element of building fabric control that have increasing importance.
Shading for housing, a design guide
From the Good Homes Alliance and British Blind and Shutter Association.
UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC)
A shared framework for describing skills needs.
Social media ban consultation comes to close
CIOB urges UK Government to consider social media’s role in careers guidance in ban debate.
The latest of eight Skills England apprenticeship units
The addition of battery manufacturing welcomed by ECA with a warning about the risks of fast-tracked apprenticeship units.
Building Control Independent Panel final report
A precis of a key report led by Dame Hackitt with full recommendations and link to the government response.
Building Safety recap April, 2026
A short and longer run-through of the month, with links to further information and sources.
CIAT May 2026 briefing.
From medieval scribes to modern word art.
ECA welcomes crackdown on late payment and push for clean energy, whilst CIOB seek fixed cladding removal timeframes.
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: A CIOB Academy TIS.
Managing competence in the built environment
ITFG publishes new industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles.




















