You will prepare and submit a term paper on An Investigation into the Poor Health and Safety Record for Silverfield Contractors Ltd. Your paper should be a minimum of 3500 words in length. Maintaining adequate safety measures and ensuring employee health is critical in construction, as safety hazards are commonplace in this industry, and maintaining safety and health minimizes cost-related and liability-related risks to the construction organization. It is the obligation of contractors in this industry to ensure potential hazards are minimized and that appropriate precautions are undertaken to ensure worker health and safety. Several accidents have occurred which led to major injuries to one employee, involving a dislocated shoulder requiring surgery after a crane’s brakes failed. Minor bruising to another employee occurred as a result of this same accident. The company sustained a near miss when lightweight pieces of building siding fell onto workers below a scaffolding system. The severity of the two different situations involving prohibition notices has also lead to a decreased reputation in the competitive construction market for Silverfield.

Evaluation of the incidents, founded on an examination of corporate records and qualitative interviews and focus groups with relevant internal employees and executives, identified the following root causes for the five investigated accidents and incidents. The firm maintains an inadequate reporting system, managerial incompetency in terms of oversight and the ability to role model a culture of risk mitigation and safety, and an executive team that is highly resistant to improving induction and training practices to improve health and safety knowledge at the organization. Based on all findings, it is recommended that Silverfield recruit an external HR consultant firm to assist in improving HR practices and building a cohesive, safety-oriented culture. It is further recommended that a total quality management system be implemented at the firm to improve documentation and compliance measures to health and safety whilst also assigning a change champion to ensure that health and safety-related changes are implemented without resistance.

This report has been constructed in agreement with Silverfield Contractors Ltd. in order to improve the safety and health policies and activities at the organization.