Introduction: The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to investigate the actions and behaviors of United States construction safety managers in the prevention of harness-induced pathology. Harness-induced pathology is the decelerating of the heart rate and reduction of oxygen to the brain; subsequently, causing unconsciousness and potentially death after a fall from height (FFH) while wearing a harness.
Method: The study included nine construction safety managers. Data collection comprised in-depth interviews and analysis was supported by NVivo 12 Plus software. Through within-case and cross-case analysis, the yielding of seven core themes and one outlier emerged.
Results: Recurring themes highlighted (a) assessing worksite safety, (b) communicating Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards clearly, (c) modeling the right behavior, (d) training with cultural competence, (e) improving training effectiveness, (f) holding workers accountable, and (g) identifying drug impaired workers. The outlier regarded ambiguity in the writing of OSHA standards; therefore, future research could focus on the standards writing process and ways to bridge any existing gaps in the translation and dissemination of OSHA safety procedures.
Conclusions: The identifying of actions and behaviors that safety managers should demonstrate while doing their jobs not only serves as a foundation for saving lives within an organization but a catalyst to inspire autonomous motivation of both the safety managers and construction workers. Subsequently, accidents due to FFH leading to harness-induced pathology will decrease due to the displaying of appropriate leadership behavior and the instilling of a focused organizational effort to maintain an effective safety culture. Practical Applications: These findings would be useful in reinforcing valuable strategies for preserving life when working from heights and unifying a more consistent custom of fall prevention on the construction job site.