SAFECON project, launched in 2018, aims at improving occupational safety management in construction sector in order to increase productivity of the industry as well as to reduce social costs and human health harms.

Project Duration: November 2018 – October 2021

Project Partners:

• LAB University of Applied Sciences – the Lead Partner
• South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (XAMK)
• Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPbGASU)
• Pushkin Leningrad State University (Pushkin LSU)

The project is funded by the European Union, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland in the framework of the SOUTH-EAST FINLAND-RUSSIA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020.

Project background and objectives

Both in Finland and Russia, the frequency of workplace accidents in construction is considerably higher than in other fields of industry or working environments. Even though work safety competencies in construction sector have been developed and mandatory training actions are implemented in both countries, the number of accidents causing varying degrees of harm is still high. Staff training is used to decrease accident risks, but personal and cultural factors have relevance and are often associated with dangerous behaviour in the workplace. Also, the share of foreign labour is constantly increasing on construction sites posing more challenges for the operation managers in terms of cultural assumptions and communication skills.

Based on these recognized challenges, the specific objective of the project is to raise the level of occupational safety competencies within the construction industry of the cross-border area. This will help to increase the productivity of the industry, reduce social costs and minimize workplace accidents by:

• creating possibilities for widening top management’s perspective of occupational safety and its influence on different factors;
• improving interaction skills of on-site managers and safety experts in the companies;
• creating a strategy for implementing workplace safety training in a physical, interactive environment;
• ensuring the implementation of the project outputs and further development in improving occupational health and safety at construction sites, considering different target groups.

All steps and actions that reduce accident frequency, the level of harm caused by the accidents or the number of touch-and-go cases, have a positive influence on the productivity and public image of the industry, help to reduce societal costs as well as prevent or minimize human suffering through possible injuries or fatalities.

The main impact of the project actions will be developing a permanent, widely usable training environment and new interactive models for workplace safety training focused on different target groups in the related cross-border area. The individual and cultural-oriented approach has a recognized need and novelty value for safety training in construction. Noticing situational, social and psychological factors on the individual level, both in instructions and in training methodology, will enhance learning and competence building and will reduce risks of accidents.

✔  The main target groups and beneficiaries of the project are: construction site workers, especially those belonging to high-risk groups, such as young or old workers or workers from a different cultural background; top management of construction companies within the cross-border area, construction site managers and occupational safety professionals; construction and civil engineering students, both in vocational and higher education institutions.

For more information, please visit the official project website: safecon.fi