David Cant

I’ve spent 25+ years helping construction SMEs with safety management… Without the theatre. What you can expect from me: Culture insights. Systems thinking. Behavioural change. People over paperwork. Curiousity over clipboards. I'm more coach than referee. If that’s the kind of support you’ve been looking for, you’re in the right place.

When a safety consultant spots someone working unsafely and steps in, they only fix the issue in that moment. The person may do the same thing again. When you help a site manager learn how to handle the situation, it's far less likely to happen again.

Love U2’s brilliant new album “Carnaval De Luz”. I didn't expect the Dolly Parton duet though… anyone else a fan?

From experience, there’s a difference between telling someone what they’ve done wrong, and helping them understand what they could do differently. One creates defensiveness. The other creates an opportunity to learn. Choose wisely how you approach your conversations.

The quickest way to discourage someone from speaking up? Make them regret the last time they did. The quickest way to encourage it? Listen, take them seriously and do something about it.

So, do things, differently.

I don't measure my success by how many problems I find. I measure it by how many problems people can solve without actually needing me there. That's what good safety support should look like.

Sometimes the biggest behaviour change needed in construction isn’t from the frontline workers. It’s from the people telling them what to do. A slightly uncomfortable thought, I know. But probably a useful one, nonetheless.

I've noticed that asking someone how their job is going and showing interest often gets a more honest answer than asking whether they're working safely. Perhaps it's the question. Or maybe it's the person asking.

Sometimes you need someone else to help you see which direction you're heading. Thank you, @JimConnolly

Some safety meetings remind me of a weather forecast. Lots of discussion about what's coming. Plenty of uncertainty. And nobody can guarantee what will actually happen.

Anyway, I don’t think my job is to make the world of construction risk-free. That’s fantasy at best. My job is to help people understand the risks, make better decisions and manage them sensibly. A little realism goes a long way.

You can spend thousands improving your safety management system. But if your supervisors don't feel confident having difficult conversations, you might have invested in the wrong thing.

Clocked this earlier at a site entrance, I think they're expecting some kind of disaster.

Construction sites are fascinating. You can have 7 people standing around a problem, all discussing the solution. And somehow, nobody actually fixes it. Another meeting might be required.

If your workforce only reports hazards when you ask during a toolbox talk, I'd suggest you haven't quite cracked engagement yet. Just saying.

Work on problems that matter instead of drifting towards trivial stuff.

Experience has taught me that not every safety problem needs a new policy, procedure or training course. Sometimes it just needs someone to pick up the damn phone, ask a few questions and sort it out. Imagine that.

Yes, I'm a safety professional. But I’m not particularly interested in being the bloke who walks around with a clipboard looking for things to criticise. I’d rather help people work out how to get the job done safely. There’s a difference.

Want to know why people don’t always follow safety procedures? Try asking them. Not in an FBI interrogation kind of way. Not with a clipboard in your hand either. Just have a sensible conversation. I can almost guarantee you’ll learn something.

Things I’ve noticed… the quickest way to see how a job is really done is to spend 10 minutes watching instead of 30 minutes discussing the RAMS. Interesting what you learn when you keep your mouth shut.