Injury Prevention in Construction (IPIC)

Why the construction industry?

The focus on the construction industry reflects its status as high-risk, with significantly higher physical injury claims when compared to other industry sectors. This is particularly true for young workers who are more likely to be injured.

Physical injuries that occur in construction and manufacturing organisations result in $384 million of annual claims in NSW, and 45 per cent of these claims come from young workers, aged 19 to 32, according to icare claims data.

Target outcomes

Our goal is to support innovations that impact workers and the industry. 

For young workers and apprentices:  

• change their behaviour through improved self-management of workplace risks
• seek out safety education tools, challenge unsafe workplace situations and accept appropriate safety messages from site supervisors
• develop their careers to become leaders of culture change for safer workplaces and work in safe and healthy ways
• participate in activities to improve workplace health and safety.

For the construction industry:

• develop an accessible evidence base of effective Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) training for young workers and supervisors
• establish best practice virtual reality safety training experiences to reduce risk-taking behaviour, endorsed and supported by the industry.

The IPIC journey so far

In 2019, icare created IPIC to address the increasing numbers of physical injuries and associated claims that are received by icare. 

Through a competitive application process, three partnering organisations were selected: