In 2024, “there were 5,070 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Of those deaths, 1,032 were employees in the construction industry, BLS says. That’s over 20% of the national number, in one occupation type.
Today, safety in construction is more than following OSHA guidelines and wearing your PPE. It’s about building a company culture around safety.
Building a culture around safety doesn’t only mean enforcing the guidelines you’ve given your crew. It means integrating a safety-first mindset in all business operations.
How a Strong Safety Culture Supports Crew Retention
At the end of the day, crews care about returning home in one piece. A strong safety culture shapes how crews view companies as employers. As Construction Business Owner (CBO) points out, “a consistent, well communicated safety culture can signal professionalism and support long-term retention.”
According to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), in 2026, “more than 80 percent of construction firms say it is difficult to find qualified hourly craft or salaried workers.” In a highly competitive labor market that’s constantly looking for skilled individuals, finding full-time employees that understand and buy into your safety culture from the start is a big win, but isn’t in the cards for many contractors today.
CBO notes that “current economic conditions may be increasing demand for contract labor.” To manage these labor shortages and keep up with project demands, temporary employees are hired to keep projects moving.
The construction industry hired a significant amount of the 2.7 million temporary workers hired in the United States during 2024, CBO says.
Finding good talent to fill the roles is only one piece of the puzzle. Research from the last decade proves that temporary employees are more prone to injury than their full-time counterparts. That makes clear expectations and consistent safety communication especially important for workers who may be newer to a company or jobsite.
Your projects depend on crews that act in alignment with your business operations. If safety is at the top of that list and consistently talked about, there’s no question about what your crew should value, too.
How Construction Technology Can Support Jobsite Safety
The earlier your crew can catch a hazard, the better chance they have of preventing an injury or fatality. This, to many contractors, may sound intuitive.
What’s not as intuitive is this: your crew will only take safety seriously if you do as a contractor.
According to Construction Executive (CE), giving your entire crew comprehensive training “so everyone is aware of potential hazards” is one key to protecting your employees from injury.
This is where construction management software, such as Tractics, comes into play. Technology doesn’t replace a contractor’s safety program or training, but it can make inspections, reporting, documentation, and emergency information easier for crews to access within the workflow they already use on the jobsite.
Tractics supports safety awareness on the jobsite with a few key features:
- Pre & Post Trip Equipment Inspections:
CE calls out regular testing and maintenance of all equipment and machinery as part of protecting your crew from serious injury.
With pre and post trip inspections, drivers and mechanics can complete vehicle and equipment inspections, record pass/fail status, defects, severity, and add necessary comments and photos.These inspections quickly identify unsafe equipment before it goes into operation and documents the condition it was found during drop-off or pick-up.
- Safety Forms in Tractics Foreman App
During their time on a jobsite, crews need to keep their attention on getting the real work done. Part of that includes keeping their eyes peeled for any potential hazards.
When a hazard is identified, it’s easy to slow the work down significantly, especially when filling out safety forms.
Rather than searching for a paper form in your truck, asking the office for it later, or is regarding it completely, foremen can quickly access near-miss reports and other safety forms configured for their company, from their iPad via the Tractics Foreman App, all while on the jobsite.
This way, your crew can document and communicate the hazard quickly and efficiently, keeping your project on track. - In Case of Emergency: Helping Crews Respond Faster
Falls made up over one third (34%) of “fatal occupational injuries in construction,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
When things get real, your crew needs to act fast.The “Emergency Page” on the Tractics Crew and Foreman Apps can be used to send an alert to the entire team, locate the closest Emergency Room or Urgent Care, and get driving directions.
The Tractics Crew and Foreman Apps both equip your crew with practical tools to support safety documentation and communication, while helping crews access emergency information quickly when they need it.
Construction Safety for Multilingual Crews
On a jobsite, a safety message only works if every crew member understands it. For multilingual crews, language barriers can make an already complicated environment even harder to navigate.
When discussing safety with your crew, “it’s not enough to say the right words; they need to resonate and mean the same thing to everyone hearing them,” says CBO. Language barriers present their own obvious obstacles – clear communication can be tricky amongst these crews. One incorrect translation can give your crew a completely different understanding of the task at hand.
According to CBO, “78% of construction supervisors wish they had real-time translation apps to better engage their teams who speak English as a second language.” With translation apps such as Google Translate or Apple Translate, communicating with multilingual teams has gotten a little easier, not just in construction.
However, at the end of the day, communication amongst multilingual crews is still clear as mud for many workers.
The Center for Construction Research and Training reports that the fatal injury rate for Hispanic construction workers increased 7.3% from 2011 to 2022. CPWR points to several factors that may contribute to increased risk, including language barriers and limited training resources available in Spanish.
For this reason, providing crews with the tools and information in the language they use matters. Tractics is available in Spanish. Safety features like the pre and post trip inspections, safety forms, and Emergency Services are all equally available to multilingual crews.
CBO says, “translating core content like safety rules and emergency procedures signals to crews that every worker’s understanding matters.” Not only does proper communication and translation matter for each worker’s safety, but it also makes them feel included by their employer.
Paula Herold is the President of Boomerang Corp, a heavy/civil contractor with over 150 employees, many of which are Spanish speakers. When talking about the Spanish version of the Tractics Crew App, she said, “Spanish speakers love that there’s no exclusion. They really feel like the company is going out of their way for them. They don’t have to struggle.”
Ensuring that every crew member has the same access and understanding of safety content is key to making sure the work gets done the right way.
Building a Stronger Safety Culture on Every Jobsite
At the end of the day, your crews can go home to their families and return to the job the next day all because of the safety practices you engage them in.
Enforcement isn’t the end of the road when it comes to building a culture around safety in your operation.
Consistently having open conversations about safety, ensuring your entire crew has an understanding of expectations, regulations, and procedures, and equipping your crew with the right tools to take care of each other on the jobsite are the steps that lead to a strong understanding of what safety means to your company.
We encourage your crew to stay safe, stay hydrated, and take care of each other.
The Tractics Crew
Sources
- Brooks, Raina D., Derek Dufoe, William Harris, and Amber Brooke Trueblood. “Hispanic Construction Workers: Employment, Business Ownership, and Injury Trends.” December, 2024.
- Clark, Mary Beth, and Shannon Jones. “Improving Safety in Construction Requires Greater Focus on Temporary Workers.” Construction Business Owner, July/August, 2026.
- Dombrowski, Randy. “Creating a Culture of Safety.” Construction Business Owner, July/August, 2026.
- Epstein, Clare. “Keep Communication & Safety From Getting Lost in Translation.” Construction Business Owner, January/February, 2026.
- Long, Evelyn. “A Head of the Game.” Construction Executive, September/October, 2025.
- “Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries News Release.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. February 19, 2026.
- “Dampened Expectations: The 2026 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook.” January, 2026.
