Construction
Inputs: NIOSH Strategic Goals
The NIOSH Construction Program uses strategic goals to guide our research and partnership efforts over the next decade.
Goals identify specific outcomes that NIOSH wants to target, performance measures for evaluating progress in meeting the outcome goals, and intermediate goals to describe the necessary steps that need to be performed to accomplish the goal. Setting goals is challenging for the following reasons:
- It forces us to focus on a subgroup of issues where we think NIOSH can make an impact - a long list would spread our resources too thin to accomplish the goals. Not every worthwhile topic can be included.
- It is difficult to develop performance measures. Available injury statistics have limitations, and exposure and health outcome measures are typically not available.
- It is ambitious for NIOSH to set goals to achieve outcomes such as reductions in a national fatality rate. NIOSH is a research agency so we don't often directly influence outcomes - we must partner well and influence other groups to show results.
NIOSH and NORA Program Portfolio Approach
NIOSH organizes its research, guidance, information, and service efforts into specific programs that can be readily communicated and strategically governed and evaluated. Construction is one of eight NORA Sector Programs that represent industrial sectors, and twenty-four Cross-sector Programs organized around adverse health outcomes, statutory programs and global efforts.
The NORA Sector Programs intersect with Cross-Sector Programs in a matrix-like fashion. For example, a Construction Program goal of reducing fall injuries would likely be a shared goal with the Traumatic Injury Cross-Sector Program and if appropriate would be adopted by both programs. This approach provides an added advantage and will allow multiple Programs to work towards accomplishment of intersecting goals.
Each of the 30 programs in the NIOSH Program Portfolio has a Manager and Coordinator. Each of the 8 NORA Sector Programs has a Sector Council to engage external stakeholders in the process of developing sector program goals and methods to measure the short-term, intermediate and long - term outcomes arising from those goals. Each cross-sector program has a Steering Committee that which will also develop program goals and monitor outcome measures. More information about the NORA Construction Sector Council can be found at the NORA Construction Sector page.
These planning efforts will position NIOSH to align with the most current governmental approaches for evaluating program effectiveness, i.e., the Program Assessment Rating Tool (or PART) . PART is a mechanism to hold governmental agencies accountable for accomplishing results. As part of our comprehensive approach to performance measurement, NIOSH has engaged the National Academies to independently evaluate our sector and cross-programs for relevance and impact.
NORA Construction Program Goals
NIOSH developed draft strategic goals for the Construction Program in 2004-2005 prior to initiation of the NORA sectors. The goals were provided as NIOSH input to the NORA Construction Sector Council effort to develop NORA goals. During the 2006 -2008 timeframe, the NORA Construction Sector Council developed fifteen strategic goals which make up a “National Construction Agenda”.
Strategic and Intermediate Goals and Performance Measures - 10/20/08 Revision
PDF only 884 KB (131 pages)
The Strategic Goals are described below:
- Strategic Goal 1: Reduce construction worker fatalities and serious injuries caused by falls to a lower level.
- Strategic Goal 2: Reduce fatal and nonfatal injuries from contact with electricity among construction workers.
- Strategic Goal 3: Reduce fatal and serious injuries associated with struck-by incidents associated with objects, vehicles, and collapsing materials and structures.
- Strategic Goal 4: Reduce hearing loss among construction workers by increased use of noise reduction solutions, practices, and hearing conservation programs used by the construction industry.
- Strategic Goal 5: Reduce silica exposures and silica-related diseases among construction workers by increasing the availability and use of silica dust controls and practices for tasks associated with important exposures.
- Strategic Goal 6: Reduce welding fume exposures and future related health risks among construction workers by increasing the availability and use of welding fume controls and practices for welding tasks.
- Strategic Goal 7: Reduce the incidence and severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among construction workers in the U.S.
- Strategic Goal 8: Increase understanding of factors that comprise both positive and negative construction safety and health cultures; and expand the availability and use of effective interventions at the policy, organizational, and individual level to maintain safe work practices 100% of the time in the construction industry.
- Strategic Goal 9: Improve the effectiveness of safety and health management programs in construction and increase their use in the industry.
- Strategic Goal 10: Improve understanding of how construction industry organization factors relate to injury and illness outcomes; and increase the sharing and use of industry-wide practices, policies, and partnerships that improve safety and health performance.
- Strategic Goal 11: Develop and build recognition and awareness of construction hazards and the means for controlling them by strengthening and extending the reach of quality training and education in the construction industry, including for non-English speaking workers.
- Strategic Goal 12: Reduce injury and illness among groups of construction workers through improved understanding of why groups of workers experience disproportionate risks in construction work and expanding the availability and use of effective interventions.
- Strategic Goal 13: Increase the use of “prevention through design (PtD)” approaches to prevent or reduce safety and health hazards in construction.
- Strategic Goal 14: Improve surveillance at the Federal, State, and private level to support the identification of hazards and associated illnesses and injuries; the evaluation of intervention and organizational program effectiveness; and the identification of emerging health and safety priorities in construction.
- Strategic Goal 15: Use the media more effectively to raise awareness and improve safety and health in construction.
These NORA goals are intended for the industry and the nation. NIOSH will use these goals to target intramural and extramural construction research efforts.
