SIFs, HECA, and ROI, oh my! In this episode, we welcome Dr. Elif Erkal, the Associate Director of Research and Strategy at the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA) at the University of Colorado Boulder. With an extensive background in civil engineering, consulting, construction management, and academic research, Dr. Erkal specializes in safety, performance measurement, predictive analytics, and project risk management. She shares insights into CSRA's unique collaborative efforts between academia and industry to advance serious injury and fatality (SIF) prevention, and explains the development of High Energy Control Assessments (HECA). She details how HECA approaches safety performance measurement, which identifies high energy hazards and assesses direct controls, offering a more actionable safety performance assessment than traditional metrics. Dr. Erkal also touches on CSRA's other research initiatives, including decluttering safety management systems and demonstrating the ROI of safety programs, emphasizing the need for data-driven solutions in safety management.

Matt Hallowell wrote a book on workplace safety. Industry made it a bestseller. | Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering | University of Colorado Boulder

Safety classification and Learning Model

119: Live From ASSP Safety 2024