Interview of SCB Owners

Attachment E

Interview Probes

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-xxxx

Exp. Date xx/xx/20xx

Interview Probes

Introduction

We are conducting a study of small construction business owners in the Tri-State area. We are interested in occupational safety and health training needs AND reasons why small construction business owners either do or do not seek occupational safety and health training for their employees. We would appreciate your responses to some questions about this. What you say during this interview is will be kept secure. Your name and the name of your business will never be disclosed to any agency, reporting body or enforcement group, such as OSHA. I do not work for OSHA and they have not asked me to do this survey. This survey is only so NIOSH can learn more about the issues small construction owners face and how they address safety and health on worksites. We’re also interested in asking about training and information as it relates to worksite safety and health. Please tell us what you really think. There are no right or wrong answers. We are not evaluating you or your business practices. The more honest you are, the more you will help us understand how worksites and businesses really operate. This will help us in our research to find simple, inexpensive and effective ways to improve safety on construction sites.

Warm-up

1. I would like to start by asking you to tell me a little bit about your company.

Probe:

What trade specialties or specific construction activities are performed by your company?

What are the two or three most common kinds of jobs your company performs?

Approximately what percentage of your work involves each of the specialties you mentioned?

Approximately what percentage of your work involves residential v. commercial contracts?

How long have you been in business?

How many employees do you have on payroll on average?

How long have most of your employees been with you?

Do your employees operate as independent contractors?

Do you employ any family members?

How often do you hire temp or agency workers?

How often do you hire day laborers?

Public reporting burden of this collection of information is estimated to average 90 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Information Collection Review Office, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-xxxx).

How is your construction company organized as a business? Are you:

• Self-employed, unincorporated?

• Sole proprietorship?

• Limited liability corporation (LLC)?

• Incorporated partnership?

• Incorporated without employees on payroll?

• Incorporated with salaried employees?

Do you pay for worker’s compensation insurance?

2. What consumes most of your time as a contractor?

Probe:

What are the top three problems you face every day?

How does safety and health play a role in any of these problems?

3. Do you personally perform construction work? If not,were you previously a construction worker?

Probe:

Were you a member of a union? Which one?

How did you learn your trade?

Do you currently work on the jobsite? What % of the time are you involved with jobsite activities?

4. What does occupational safety and health mean to you?

Current use and preferences for safety and health-related information

The purpose of this section is to find out about the types of safety and health-related information participants currently utilize.

Now I would like to ask you about where you get information for your business and which sources you prefer and why.

1. Do you belong to any sort of professional organizations or trade associations?

If yes:

Which association(s) do you belong to?

Do you attend their meetings?

Do they send you a publication or direct you to their website?

Do you ever read the publication or use their site?

If so, what have you found to be of interest? Did you use that information?

2. What are the top three topics you seek information on for your business?

Probe:

What sources of information are available regarding these topics?

When you search for information, where do you look for information?

Are there any Web sites you go to for this information?

What information have you received in the mail, email, from colleagues, etc.?

Is there a particular organization or association you get information from? e.g.: union, construction industry association

Which trade publications do you subscribe to?

Which do you read? Which of their website(s) do you visit?

3. What are your preferred sources for safety and health information?

Probe:

Do the sources for general information you mentioned above also provide safety and health information, or do you use specific sources for safety and health information?

What other sources are available?

Do you prefer to use information from a particular source?

e.g.: union, professional association, organization, other employers, suppliers

What is it about this source that makes it good?

Do you specifically look for information focused on a particular topic?

What are some things you look for when making a decision to use information on a topic? e.g.: format, cost, etc.

Before we spoke, had you ever heard of NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), CPWR (Center for Construction Research and Training), or OSHA?

If so, have you used any resources from NIOSH, OSHA or CPWR for information? Which ones?

4. There are many different formats of delivery for safety and health information. There are standard materials like handing out brochures, fact sheets, and putting up posters. There are safety meetings or morning Toolbox Talks. There are accessories like clipboard magnets with safety messages and hard hat stickers. There are also Internet-based resources like online tutorials or training. And then there are electronic resources like DVDs, podcasts and audio CDs, downloads to a PDA or smart phone, and hand-held electronic devices for safety audits, CD-ROMs, audio CDs, and videos/DVDs.

Overall, what format(s) of information do you need, or are you most interested in seeing at your worksite?

What formats do you use?

Probe:

Why do you like these format(s)?

What makes these format(s) usable?

Needs for training and/or information on safety and health

The purpose of this section is to get participants thinking and talking about needs for training and/or information on safety and health at their worksite.

Next we would like to ask you about any needs you might have for training and/or information on safety and health that aren’t met.

1. Think now about your current worksite(s) -- what are the health and safety issues that you lose the most sleep over?

Probe:

What are some of the key areas and/or tasks with the greatest risk of injury and/or illness?

What is your company’s No. 1 safety concern?

Are there important pieces of information that you know must be communicated to workers?

Are there some topics that you need or would like additional information on?

2. Now think about your business over the years since you began.

Probe:

Please tell me about a preventable injury or close call you experienced yourself.

Please tell me about an employee working for you that experienced a preventable injury or close call.

Have any family members working for you experienced a preventable injury or close call?

For each instance noted above: What did you do about it? How did you react to this event?

How have safety problems, injuries, lost time, and/or turnover complicated your business and/or cost you money?

Has a lack of safety credentials (eg., 10-hour safety training card) ever limited your ability to bid on jobs?

Have any competitors you respect obtained safety training?

Have workers compensation premiums provided any incentives for seeking safety and health training for your business?

Have you been on any jobs where owners or prime contractors required safety and health qualifications or specific safety procedures?

3. Research suggests that there are several topics which many contractors find especially important, including: training, fall prevention/protection, trenching/excavation safety, musculoskeletal disorders, noise exposure and hearing loss, personal protective equipment, general equipment safety, housekeeping, traumatic injuries, hazard communication, written programs, scaffolding, confined spaces, lockout/tagout, work zones, hot work, crane operations and rigging, forklifts, lead, asbestos, etc.

Probe:

Please rank order how important each of these topics is for your business.

Are there any other important topics you think should be ranked?

4. Who is the person mainly responsible for safety and health in your company?

[If someone other than themselves] Do you have a safety officer on staff or do you use a consultant? How about a “competent person”? (these are required by some OSHA standards such as excavation and scaffolding).

Probe:

How do you find out about the safety and health of your employees, or how often you do receive safety and health reports from your safety officer/rep?

How do you measure progress?

What does the safety officer say are his/her major concerns on the site?

What sort of relationship does the safety officer have with the other people in the company? (workers? supervisors?)

How do you/this person decide what information is needed at the worksite and make sure that workers and supervisors get it?

How is information distributed to the workers and supervisors?

5. When you have regular safety and health trainings or “Tool Box Talks”, how long do they last?

Probe:

If so, who plans the sessions? Who chooses the topics? Who does the talks?

How frequently do they occur?

How often do you observe the trainings?

6. When have you received requests from workers for training and/or information on safety and health?

Probe:

What topic(s) were these requests focused on?

Were these requests for a particular format of information? e.g.: posters, videos or DVDs, etc.

Who requests information?

7. Overall, where does occupational safety and health fit within the mission of your business?

Stages of Change Question

Which of the following statements best describes your thoughts today regarding starting a safety and health program or improving your existing safety and health program?

a. I haven’t thought about it at all

b. I am thinking about starting a new safety and health program or improving my current safety and health program in the next 6 months.

c. I am preparing to put a new safety and health program into place or improve my current safety and health program in the next 30 days.

d. I have already started a new safety and health program or began making improvements to my current safety and health program within the past 6 months.

e. My safety and health program was established more than 6 months ago - it is functioning well and I do not feel the need to change.

Theory of Planned Behavior Elicitation Questions

1. Behavioral Outcomes

• Help me understand what are the advantages of your seeking OSH training for your business in the near future?

• Help me understand what are the disadvantages of your seeking OSH training for your business in the near future?

• Is there anything else you associate with your seeking OSH training for your business in the near future?

2. Normative Referents

• Who are the individuals or groups who would approve of your seeking OSH training for your business in the near future?

• Who are the individuals or groups who would disapprove of your seeking OSH training for your business in the near future?

• Are there any other individuals or groups who come to mind when you think about seeking OSH training for your business in the near future?

3. Control Beliefs

• What factors or circumstances would enable you to seek OSH training for your business in the near future?

• What factors or circumstances would make it difficult or impossible for you to seek OSH training for your business in the near future? What do you see as the barriers to obtaining and providing safety and health training or information?

• Are there any other issues that come to mind when you think about the difficulty of seeking OSH training for your business in the near future?

These additional topics can be used options to provide SCB owners with several prompts for additional potential influences on their intentions to seek OSH training for their business:

-They have experienced a preventable injury or close call themselves
- A family member working for them has experienced a preventable injury or close call
- One of their employees has experienced a preventable injury or close call
- Injuries, lost time, and turnover complicate their business and cost them money
- Competitors they respect have obtained safety training
- Safety problems have caused avoidable business expenses
- Training gives their businesses the skills to be safe
- Lack of safety credentials (eg,10-hour safety training card) limited ability to bid on jobs
- Workers compensation premiums provide them with incentives for training

- lack of effective training resources and materials

- not enough time

- too costly

4. We’ve covered all of the questions I had for you. Is there anything else on health and safety information you would like to add?

Thank you for speaking with us today and providing your opinions! Your comments have been very helpful and insightful.

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