From Errors to Excellence: A New Paradigm for Safety in Construction

Authors

Ryan Maraffi

Files

Description

2025 ASEM 620 Capstone Project

Publication Date

4-14-2025

Publisher

University of Alabama at Birmingham

City

Birmingham, AL

Keywords

safety engineering

Disciplines

Engineering

Comments

This capstone project presents a Human and Organizational Potential (HOP) training program, meticulously tailored to the electrical construction industry, a high-risk environment where systems thinking, psychological safety, and continuous learning are paramount. Drawing on concepts from the Advanced Safety Engineering and Management (ASEM) program, including safety through design, human factors, and complex adaptive systems—this project demonstrates how applying modern safety theories leads to proactive risk management and organizational resilience. The paper integrates Dekker’s (2011) “new view” of human error, Hollnagel’s (2014) Safety-II framework, Edmondson’s (1999) psychological safety model, and The U.S. Forest Service Learning Review (USFS-LR) methodology (2014), among others, into a holistic training curriculum for electrical construction workers. The anticipated outcomes include reduced incident rates, robust near-miss reporting, and a sustained cultural transformation that transcends compliance-based safety. Ultimately, this capstone underscores how HOP principles, synthesized with ASEM coursework built upon advanced safety theory, enable safer, more adaptive work systems in an industry where even minor errors can have serious consequences.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Maraffi, Ryan, "From Errors to Excellence: A New Paradigm for Safety in Construction" (2025). ASEM Capstones. 2.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/asem/2