The Perils Of Cellphone Use At Construction Sites
President Steven Imburgia was interviewed in a recent article by Jenn Goodman in Construction Dive regarding the productivity loss and safety issues surrounding cellphones at construction sites. The article was a follow-up to a previous article entitled, “Jobsites’ Most Universal Hazard: Personal Cellphones,” published on February 6, 2020 that resulted in an outpouring of comments by readers regarding this issue.
While some readers felt that mobile phones can be useful communication tools, most viewed cellphones on the job negatively:
- They’re a distraction that compromises safety and production.
- A long-standing, chronic issue.
- The No. 1 factor in falling productivity and costs.
- A huge safety liability that is becoming more obvious and hard to police.
- A dangerous distraction.
- People are addicted, it is like a drug.
- The elephant in the room when it comes to productivity, safety, privacy and confidentiality on building construction jobsites.
- It’s something we have noticed becoming an issue and wondered if others are also.
Steven Imburgia of Imburgia Consulting, told Construction Dive that the biggest issue with cellphones is that workers feel they should have unrestricted use of them. The number of hours they spend on their phones while at work is staggering, he said. “Today, employees feel it is fine to be on the phone
taking care of personal business without any boundaries,” he said. “This includes talking to friends and family, texting unrelated to work, checking and posting on Facebook, all on company time, which results in a huge loss of productivity.” And he pointed out that cellphones on jobsites can also create confidentiality problems because they allow workers to take photos, videos or audio recordings that haven’t been approved. “In my state you do not have to have someone’s permission to record a conversation, so do we have to take the position that every discussion is being recorded?” Imburgia asked.
Many companies have or are beginning to set policies regarding the use of cellphones at construction sites. These include warnings to a reduction in pay to fines and termination. OSHA currently has no specific regulation regarding the use of cellphones on the jobsite.
Read the full article by Jenn Goodman here.
