Construction firms participating in Construction Safety Week 2026 are being encouraged to rethink how they conduct safety stand-downs, with industry leaders emphasizing engagement, trade-specific discussions and interactive learning to improve worker retention and participation.
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Safety stand-downs, which temporarily pause work activities so crews can discuss hazards and safe work practices, have become a common tool across jobsites nationwide. But safety executives say the effectiveness of those meetings depends heavily on how the information is delivered and whether workers see direct relevance to their daily tasks.
“I think everybody has to go into that eyes wide open,” said Shaun Carvalho, chief safety officer for Shawmut Design and Construction. “We’re going to create a lot of learning environments where we’re going to throw a lot of stuff out there.”
Industry experts say generic presentations or scripted toolbox talks often fail to hold workers’ attention. Instead, contractors are increasingly focusing on customized discussions led by trade professionals and field personnel.
Ned Brown, director of safety for Gray Construction, said workers are more likely to retain information when it directly relates to their responsibilities on the jobsite.
“The best methodology is to make safety meaningful to the craft workers and team members who are being spoken to during the stand-down,” Brown said. “If the content is not relevant to them, or it is not presented in a way they can relate it to their work tasks, they will not retain or buy in to the information.”
To improve participation, some contractors are involving trade leaders directly in stand-down planning and presentations. Manhattan Construction Group, for example, invites electricians and other specialty contractors to discuss hazards specific to their trades.
“We do that with all of our trades,” said Hal Wheatley, corporate safety director for Manhattan Construction. “We get all the ownership from all the people in the field and it just shows like, ‘Hey, you really care about me. You want to hear what I have to say and what I have to say matters.’”
At Granite Construction, vendors are sometimes brought onto jobsites to demonstrate safe equipment and tool usage.
“It’s about getting them involved, getting them engaged and seeing that it’s about them,” said Jesse Torres, corporate compliance safety director for Granite Construction.
Construction firms are also moving away from lecture-style presentations in favor of hands-on demonstrations and interactive discussions designed to improve engagement.
“The best is when we have active participation from the contractors. Not getting up and just reading from a script,” said Steve Spaulding, senior vice president and chief environmental health and safety officer for Turner Construction Company. “It’s about knowing the material and understanding the material and having a conversation.”
Turner has also found success by highlighting positive safety achievements during stand-downs, reinforcing good behavior alongside hazard awareness.
Meanwhile, Shawmut has experimented with experiential learning exercises. Carvalho said the company used golf carts and impairment-simulating goggles during presentations focused on drunk driving awareness and total worker health.
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Contractors also stressed the importance of discussing hazards when they are most relevant. Turner conducted a summer stand-down focused specifically on heat-related illness prevention during warmer months.
“Last year we did a summer stand-down because we wanted to have an emphasis on heat,” Spaulding said. “We want to make sure that we’re getting that communicated to everybody on the jobsite so that we can continue to focus and emphasize the importance of it.”
Carvalho said Shawmut is also planning toolbox talks focused on digital distractions and screen addiction, topics he believes workers can personally relate to both on and off the jobsite.
“The reason that we do that is because you want people to feel really good,” Carvalho said. “And if you feel really good, you’re going to be happy at work, you’re going to produce more and you’re going to want to come back. It’s just going to be a more enjoyable experience.”
Originally reported by Zachary Phillips, Senior Editor in Construction Dive.
