At Tenstreet Construction, our goal is to advance a culture of safety that is data-driven, proactive, and bottom-up as well as top-down. Our approach is guided by the learnings from our parent company, Tenstreet’s successful experience in creating the largest interactive network of drivers and carriers in the trucking industry.
What’s the similarity between trucking and building when it comes to safety? We believe it lies in the need for technology that enables true interactive engagement between the providers of safety measures and those they are intended to protect. In other words, crew managers and their construction workers.
Where safety technology in construction falls short
The construction industry, just like trucking, is a field traditionally governed by employees conducting their jobs using physical labor with significant safety exposures in remote locations. Managers, also similarly, are increasingly turning to technology to enhance workplace safety.
To date, in construction, these technologies have been focused on better online data collection and recording. At a macro level, for example, technology has vastly improved the recording and analysis of safety inspections. And at the micro level, wearable safety devices for individual workers provide some protection while also gathering real-time data about the state of the worker.
However, the ability to proactively act on all this data is lagging. According to a 2023 study from Dodge Construction Network and CWPR, “…nearly one-quarter of the contractors who collect project safety data said they do not analyze it.” Furthermore, the ability to proactively share safety and compliance data – back and forth – with the construction team typically still requires an onsite visit from the superintendent.
Sure, two-way radio technology answers the need to communicate between workers at the site, but a technology gap persists for the superintendent trying to collect updated documents from individuals on the crew or looking to provide 1:1, individualized counsel to prevent potential accidents when performance data is indicating that it would be wise to do so.
And let’s not forget the vital flow of communication from the crew back to the office, enabling the worker at the site to easily communicate with the office in a way that all those individual communications can still be recorded, tracked, and analyzed at scale.
Putting the right engagement tool in the hands of your crew
In the trucking industry, the answer was Driver Pulse – a mobile app carefully shaped to assist easy but trackable two-way communication between drivers and fleet managers for everything from job applications to compliance documentation to safety training. A similar capability in construction workers’ hands would simplify the collection of safety documentation, support 1:1 troubleshooting, and provide an immediate option for presenting safety concerns.
The value of improved project communication has already been well documented for the success of the building project, so why not extend this benefit to the safety and well-being of the crew? At Tenstreet Construction, we are working with major construction companies, technology partners, and industry associations to make this happen.
If you are interested in learning more about how Tenstreet Construction is helping our clients build more impactful relationships with their crew, ensuring their safety and well-being, and aiding them in the all-important focus of employee retention, please reach out to us.
