Podcast

Safety First: When Everyone Goes Home Safe

At Skanska, safety is our highest priority – but what does that mean in practice on a modern construction site? The industry has long focused on managing and mitigating hazards, but today, a fundamental shift is taking place, where we are actively designing risks out of the process.

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In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, we explore this evolution with Christian Jakobsson, Vice President for Sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety Management at Skanska Group, and Phillip LeFave, Senior Vice President for Operations at Skanska USA Civil.

Together, they bridge the gap between global safety strategy and real-world delivery, discussing how advanced planning, the hierarchy of controls mindset, and the integration of new technologies are making construction not just safer, but significantly more productive.

Key takeaways

The inherent challenges of construction: Why construction remains a high-risk, ever-changing environment, and why continuous improvement is the only path forward.
The hierarchy of controls: How the industry is moving away from relying solely on personal protective equipment (PPE) and shifting focus to the top of the pyramid: eliminating hazards before work even begins.
Safety equals productivity: Breaking the myth that safety slows things down. Learn how eliminating risks – like moving high-altitude work to ground-level prefabrication – increases efficiency and makes the job easier and safer for everyone on site.

Technology as a game-changer: How drones, robotics, and AI tools (like Skanska's Safety Sidekick and PlanIt tools) are revolutionizing site planning, hazard analysis and real-time decision-making in the field.
The human element: Why initiatives like daily hazard analyses and "Stretch and Flex" are crucial investments in people, ensuring every worker is set up for success and goes home safely every single day.
The goal of zero: Why achieving zero serious accidents and fatalities is not just a vision, but an achievable reality through continuous improvement and relentless planning.

Featured guests:

Christian Jakobsson, Vice President for Sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety Management, Skanska Group
Phillip LeFave, Senior Vice President for Operations, Skanska USA Civil
Host: John Ambrose

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