Safety Knights

Is “Safety Culture” Actually Making Job Sites Less Safe?

You ever sit through a toolbox talk so disconnected from your actual job that you wonder if someone just googled “safety buzzwords” and hit print?

Yeah, us too.

We recently watched the video “Safety Culture is Ruining Construction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TepW0uqgQUY ” by a seasoned tradesman who decided to speak out—from his garage, no less—about what’s gone sideways in safety culture. And let’s be honest: he’s not wrong.

In fact, a lot of what he said needs to be heard in boardrooms, tailgate meetings, and yes - even on LinkedIn.

Here’s our take on what he got right, where the industry needs a reality check, and what real safety culture should look like.

When Safety Becomes Theater

Let’s get this out of the way: we want every worker to go home in one piece. Every time. That’s never up for debate.

But when “safety” becomes a pile of binders, check-the-box worksheets, and rituals that don’t improve outcomes, you’ve officially entered Safety Theater—and folks, the audience is tired.
“Pre-task planning should be a conversation, not a ceremony.”

Performative safety burns out crews, creates resentment, and ironically? It can actually reduce vigilance. When every minor task is treated like a high-risk operation, workers stop listening altogether.
They’re not being careless—they’re being conditioned to ignore the noise.

Vanity Metrics Are Hurting Real Safety

Let’s talk about that four-letter acronym every safety pro knows: TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate).
The speaker absolutely nailed it. TRIR is:
● Easily manipulated (hello, underreporting)
● Irrelevant to incident severity
● Wildly skewed for smaller contractors
● Incentivized to look good—not be good

And don’t even get us started on how many companies start scrambling for fresh fall protection after an incident—just to retroactively make it seem like the worker “was wearing it.”

You want a better metric? Start tracking morale, engagement, and the quality of safety conversations—not just how many forms got filled out.

Freezing for Compliance

One of the video’s best examples? A hardhat rule so strict that workers couldn’t wear anything underneath it—even in cold weather.

Here’s the problem: OSHA allows cold-weather liners as long as they don’t interfere with fit or conductivity. So if your policy says “nothing under hard hats ever,” congratulations—you’re now enforcing rules beyond the law, in a way that literally makes your team more miserable (and distracted).
That’s not safety. That’s micromanagement with a PPE badge.

Who’s Delivering the Message?

We’ve all seen it. The fresh-out-of-college safety officer with spotless boots lecturing a 25-year veteran on how to hold a ladder.

You could quote OSHA line by line, but if you’ve never run wire or poured concrete, don’t expect credibility right out the gate.

Experience matters. Context matters. Respect matters.

It’s time we empower experienced workers to lead peer-based safety discussions. No, not as formal “trainers”—as credible voices who can say, “I’ve seen what happens when you cut corners. Let’s not do that here.”

So What Does Real Safety Culture Look Like?

Let’s be constructive here—because the video wasn't just a rant. It was a call for smarter, worker-first safety practices.

Here’s what we’d double down on:
1. Cut the clutter.
If a form doesn’t serve the crew, toss it. Focus on risk-specific controls, not hypothetical ones from 500 miles away.

2. Fix the metrics.
TRIR’s had its time. Measure things that matter—like safety leadership behavior, near-miss transparency, and crew engagement.

3. Make talks matter.
Toolbox talks shouldn’t be monologues. Make them conversations. Use stories. Let the trades speak. They know more than we give them credit for.

4. Take morale seriously.
Low morale isn’t just a productivity problem. It’s a safety risk. Burnout and indifference don’t mix well with ladders and lockout tags.

5. Respect the pros.
Stop infantilizing skilled tradespeople. Treat them like the safety partners they are—not just the liability risks on your spreadsheet.

Safety Isn’t the Problem—How We Manage It Is

This isn't an anti-safety post. It's a pro-reality post.

Workers don’t need more forms. They need policies that make sense. They don’t need lectures. They need leaders who listen. They don’t need to “perform” safety. They need to actually be safe.
And that starts by building a culture where safety isn't outsourced to a binder or a metric—but owned by every person on the crew.

What Do You Think?
Have you seen safety theater in action? What’s something on your jobsite that makes you shake your head? Let’s call it out—constructively—and build a better safety culture from the ground up.
Drop your thoughts below.

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