Construction workers become familiar with their surroundings quickly. They learn where equipment travels, where materials are stored, which access routes are normally clear and how work typically moves through the site.

That familiarity can make a job more efficient, but it can also create risk.

Construction sites are constantly changing. A route that was clear yesterday may be blocked today. A new excavation may have been opened. Equipment may have been relocated. Barricades or traffic patterns may have changed. Another crew may have begun work nearby. Even weather can turn a familiar walking or driving surface into a new hazard.

When workers operate on yesterday’s assumptions instead of today’s conditions, hazards can be overlooked.

Start Every Shift With a Fresh Look

Before work begins, crews should take a few minutes to look at the site as if they were seeing it for the first time.

Pay particular attention to:

• New excavations, openings or changes in elevation
• Equipment that has been moved or added to the work area
• Changes to vehicle or pedestrian traffic patterns
• New material deliveries or altered storage areas
• Barricades, signs or temporary traffic controls that have moved
• Work being performed by other contractors or crews nearby
• Changes to access and emergency routes
• Overhead or underground hazards associated with new work
• Mud, standing water, ice or other changes caused by weather
• Temporary lighting or reduced visibility

A brief inspection can identify a change before it becomes an incident.

Communicate What Changed

Identifying a new hazard is only useful if the people working around it know about it.

Pre-shift meetings and toolbox talks are good opportunities to discuss changes to the site. Supervisors should point out new hazards, explain changes to the day’s work and make sure employees understand how those changes affect their tasks.

Workers should also be encouraged to speak up when they notice something different. A change that seems minor to one person may significantly affect another crew working nearby.

On multi-employer jobsites, communication between contractors is especially important. Work performed by one crew can create new conditions for another, making coordination an important part of the day’s safety planning.

Don’t Let Familiarity Become Complacency

Many hazards are easy to recognize when workers encounter them for the first time. The challenge comes when a site becomes familiar.

Workers may walk the same path, park equipment in the same location or perform the same task every day without incident. Over time, it becomes easy to operate on autopilot.

The problem is that the jobsite may have changed even when the worker’s routine has not.

Before starting a familiar task, ask:

That simple question can prompt workers to look for changes instead of assuming conditions are the same.

Take Five Before You Start

1. Look: Scan the work area for new or changed conditions.
2. Identify: Determine whether those changes introduce new hazards.
3. Communicate: Make sure affected workers and crews know what changed.
4. Adjust: Update the work plan, controls or access routes as needed.
5. Recheck: Continue watching for changes throughout the shift.

Construction sites don’t stand still. Safety plans shouldn’t either.

Yesterday’s routine may not fit today’s jobsite. Take a fresh look before work begins.