Use of Behavioral Economics to Enhance Struck-By Prevention Planning: Nudging Construction Contractors and Workers Toward Safer Decisions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Sarpy, Sue A. ; Barlet, Grace ; Bunting, Jessica
• Description:
  Despite longstanding efforts to improve construction safety, struck-by incidents remain a leading cause of worker injuries and fatalities. To help address persistent challenges in awareness and adoption of struck-by prevention practices, this study applied behavioral economics-specifically, the use of nudges-to enhance decision-making across multiple levels of the construction workforce. A pilot intervention was developed and tested using a structured Define, Diagnose, Design, Test framework to incorporate nudges into a Struck-by Prevention Planning Program. The intervention, developed with industry partners, included prompts, reminders, feedback, social norms, and incentives, to improve struck-by prevention planning. The evaluation employed pre- and post-intervention surveys of workers, frontline supervisors, and upper-level managers across five construction companies. Results indicated strong support for planning practices and safety climate, with workers and supervisors reporting reductions in exposure to all major struck-by hazards post-intervention. Nudges such as signage/posters, stickers, and feedback were most widely used and rated as effective in reinforcing safety decisions. Spanish-speaking workers and supervisors reported significantly higher adoption of key planning practices following the intervention, highlighting the potential of multilingual approaches that engage all segments of the workforce. While worker- and supervisory-level engagement was high, managerial adoption varied, underscoring the need for clearer implementation strategies. These findings demonstrate that low-cost, readily available, scalable nudges, when embedded within planning frameworks and aligned with organizational context (safety climate/culture), can support improved safety decision-making on the job. Nudges offer a practical strategy for enhancing occupational safety interventions at the job site and a promising direction for policy initiatives aimed at advancing occupational safety in the construction industry. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Construction
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
• Keywords:
  • Construction workers
  • Injury prevention
  • Safety practices
  • Behavior patterns
  • Decision making
  • Intervention effectiveness
  • Safety climate
  • Safety education
• Series:
  CPWR - Center for Construction Research and Training Publications
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Philadelphia Region OSHA
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  76 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071851
• Citation:
  Silver Spring, MD: CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, 2025 Aug; :1-74
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  2009/09/01
• End Date:
  2024/08/31
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260073/cdc_260073_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 858.69 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7024e145dcdbbcb0635938513d3e13b27f565652a967d898e8f60ec663c15e3062f03c52e11bec0f3dadb7e1294512a4b86f1ccaeb888803368b6cc5ea94dc61