Nearly two-thirds of construction firms have implemented a program to prevent serious injuries and fatalities, commonly called SIFs, according to a recent survey conducted by the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA).

For its annual Safety in Practice Report, researchers examined responses from 72 construction firms on seven safety concepts:

1. SIF prevention program
2. Lagging indicators (total recordable incident rate, for example) as incentivized metrics
3. High-energy control assessments, or HECA, program
4. Alternative measurement metrics
5. Quality of leading indicators field guides and scorecards
6. Alternative controls definition
7. New hierarchy of energy controls

Results indicate HECA adoption is increasing, with 26% of the firms implementing a program last year – up from 20% in 2024. Another 44% of the firms indicated that they plan to implement a HECA program, an increase from 38% the year before.

Meanwhile, 63% of the firms don’t have safety metrics tied to management or employee incentives or bonuses, or metrics used to track regulatory compliance.

“All of these companies reported concerns related to leadership overreaction and misplaced focus on low-severity recordable injuries,” the report states. “Among the 24 respondents (33%) who tie incentives for executive to middle leadership to safety performance metrics, the most cited reason is to build organizational commitment to safety.”

CSRA advises that the report is “not an endorsement of any specific safety activity or best practice,” adding that “the goal is to facilitate learning and discussion rather than to endorse any specific approach.”

(Originally appeared in Safety & Health, a publication of the National Safety Council.)