Safety is the most important thing on a construction site, and there are several avenues to building a culture of safety in any company or organization. Tucker Paving has been in the construction industry for 30 years, and we’ve experienced firsthand the value of mentorship in building a culture of safety. There are few things as valuable as one-on-one instruction, and every company or organization should be tapping into the value of a mentor relationship when it comes to safety.

The Role of a Mentor

The mentor/apprentice relationship is one that has deep roots in all skills-based trades, going far back in history. How could it not? No one was born knowing how to heat and bend metal into armor, process leather, or lay stones for buildings that would last for thousands of years. Similarly, no one is born knowing how to mill asphalt, cure concrete, or how to run a bulldozer.

Books and websites can only get you so far in learning the intricacies of most skills. What do you do when you have a question or concern that isn’t covered by the information in a book or on a website or YouTube video? This is where the experience and expertise of a mentor comes in.

Benefits of Mentorship for Safety

Utilizing a mentorship dynamic to further your company’s safety culture, just as you do for the sharing of your industry’s skills, has multiple benefits. They include:

Getting new hires into the company’s safety culture from the start. When a new hire comes onto a worksite, they bring with them their own set of ideas and beliefs on how things should be done, both concerning the job at hand and safety. Yet they are still “outside” the company’s culture and are looking for ways to fit in.

This is where a mentor steps in, and shows them “the ropes,” both concerning the ebb and flow of the work and the company’s safety expectations. If safety is treated laxly, with mere lip service paid to safety protocols and standards, then new hires—especially those with no prior experience in construction—will follow suit and will work in an unsafe manner. Similarly, new hires with bad safety habits from prior experience will likely continue those bad habits if not corrected early.

A mentor is paramount in showing new hires the company’s expectations when it comes to safety; without such instruction, most new hires will be adrift and might not hit the mark when it comes to safety. Leaving such things up to chance means a greater likelihood of someone being injured or worse.

Developing skills. Just like experienced workers pass down their knowledge of how to do the job correctly, they also pass down the knowledge of how to do it safely. This is where knowledge goes from basic knowledge to a deep understanding of the ways and means. For example, required OSHA safety courses will teach a mentee about the importance of a fall protection harness when working from heights, but a mentor shares information on where the harness is most likely to fray and fail, the best way to store it for longevity, and how to choose anchor points in unconventional situations.

Building a network. A mentor brings apprentices “into the fold.” This means that the apprentices are now a part of a larger network of experts who are well-seasoned in both the trade and in respecting safety protocols. This network is a pipeline for new developments and technology, for new opportunities, and for finding answers to tough questions. It’s as useful for issues concerning safety as it is for any other topic related to your industry.

Tucker Paving’s three decades in the asphalt and concrete paving industry has taught us to value safety first because our employees are our greatest asset! Contact us by calling (863) 299-2262, or use our contact form online, to get help with your next project!