The Client and Its Challenge
A construction business faced an increased incident rate that was adversely affecting the company's eligibility to bid on new jobs. Employees frequently ignored safety programs and high manager turnover had resulted in a loss of confidence in the company's leadership. A recent on-the-job fatality had further lowered employee morale.

The Risk Consulting Solution
Marsh's consultants were retained to conduct a pilot implementation of Behavioral Risk Improvement (BRI) at two of the company's locations. A team-based approach to improving safety and operational performance, BRI involves employees and managers from across the organization. Key aspects of BRI are measurement and positive reinforcement including peer-to-peer interaction and visible management support.

Consultants began by evaluating existing safety processes and systems and reviewing the company's loss data. Next, they identified critical, safe, and at-risk behaviors and observed work-related risk factors. Marsh consultants also interviewed key stakeholders, including a cross-section of employees, and observed the workplace. Finally, consultants prioritized safety management system improvements based on their projected return on investment.

Consultants trained hourly workers at the two locations on the BRI process. The company's senior management received additional training on methods to support safety and behavioral changes. To complement the training, Marsh implemented a system to benchmark behavior improvement.

Results
The BRI process enabled the company to dramatically improve its OSHA recordable rates from 12.83 to 6.11 for the first shop and from 6.8 to 0 for the second. Overall incident rates were reduced and employee morale showed marked improvement. Reductions of on-site injuries alleviated the risk measurements that would have disqualified the company from the bidding process for new jobs. The BRI results were so significant that senior management decided to implement a company-wide BRI rollout.