HRO and safety maturity: Assessing what matters
Construction employers can now take part in a time-limited project testing whether a structured approach to assessing and improving safety program maturity works in construction. ACSA is seeking employers interested in being part of that work.
Across the industry, two realities continue to surface despite significant investment in safety.
- Serious incidents still occur, often with similar underlying patterns
- Administrative requirements continue to grow, without always improving outcomes
This project explores whether focusing on how work is planned, supervised and carried out, rather than adding requirements, can help identify early signals of risk and support better decisions.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
What this project involves
Construction employers gain access to a methodology that assesses, strengthens and monitors the maturity of their safety programs. The approach draws on High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles, academic science applied in other high-risk sectors. This project tests whether it works in construction across different worksites, contractor sizes and sectors.
The focus is on learning and improvement, not audits or compliance. Participants examine the organizational conditions that shape how work happens on site: leadership, supervision, communication, risk awareness and decision-making, alongside the technical systems already in place.
ACSA is exploring a direct academic partnership to commission an independent study of the methodology and its construction-specific findings. Independent validation is standard practice when applying a methodology to a new sector. It ensures findings are credible and defensible, and gives members confidence that the results stand on their own.
Note: If findings support it, ACSA may explore offering safety maturity evaluation and improvement as a service to members. Participating employers are under no obligation to continue beyond the project period and may withdraw at any time.
How it works
The project moves through three phases, each building on the one before it.
- Phase 1—Evaluate A baseline assessment of your organization’s safety program maturity and operating risks. Builds on your existing information and practices rather than creating new reporting requirements.
- Phase 2—Improve eLearning, peer coaching and improvement planning. You develop a practical roadmap tailored to your baseline results and operating context.
- Phase 3—Monitor Dashboard-based tracking of progress and selected risk indicators—a structured way to see whether improvements hold over time.
What participation involves
The project works with your existing operations, not on top of them.
- Looks at how work is planned, supervised and carried out on site
- Builds on existing information and practices, no duplication
- No workforce-wide surveys required
- Flexible involvement: observe first or participate directly
- Time-limited, with a defined scope and clear deliverables for your organization
Who should consider participating
- Employers interested in contributing to industry learning and gaining insight into their own safety program strengths and gaps
- Contractors managing active work sites who want to understand how safety maturity is assessed and improved, beyond compliance
- Hiring clients who engage and select contractors, and want to understand how they can strengthen performance on their projects
How the project is structured
Three parties have defined roles in the project:
- ACSA: Leads the project and subsidizes participating employers’ access to evaluation, improvement tools and the monitoring platform during the development phase.
- Intactix Systems Inc: Provides the technology platform, methodology and analytics that support the evaluation, improvement and monitoring phases.
- University of Alberta: The University of Alberta’s Research Ethics Board reviewed and accepted the methodology, meeting the academic and ethical standards for research.
ACSA is also exploring an academic partnership to independently validate the project’s construction-specific findings and ensure they can inform future decisions.
Improving safety in construction takes industry participation.
Interested in participating?
Contact Matthew Nasby, Director, Member Services, at mnasby@youracsa.ca, to learn more about this project and express your interest.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is the benefit or advantage of participating early?
Early participants help shape the service during development and establish their safety culture baseline ahead of later adopters.
Q: Is there a cost to participate?
Yes. ACSA structured participation to be accessible to its members, with subsidy options for employers. Email mnasby@youracsa.ca to discuss your participation and the support available.
Q: Will we be required to subscribe or sign up for anything later? What happens after the development phase?
No. Participation does not obligate you to subscribe to any future service.
If findings support it, ACSA may explore offering safety maturity evaluation and improvement to members. You would decide at that time whether to continue.
Q: How is our data used and protected?
Your data remains yours. ACSA uses anonymized, aggregated insights for industry learning. Identifiable information is not shared without your consent. The University of Alberta’s Research Ethics Board provided independent oversight of data handling. Additional details are provided before onboarding.