New Research Links Better Pre-Job Safety Briefings to Fewer Serious Injuries

Key Takeaways 

• Better pre-job safety briefings are linked to fewer serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs). 
• Higher-quality pre-job briefings are associated with stronger high-energy hazard controls. 
• A 1% increase in briefing quality was associated with a 0.5% increase in High-Energy Control Assessment (HECA) scores. 
• A 1% increase in HECA was associated with approximately 3% fewer expected SIFs. 
• Pre-job briefings and hazard controls provide measurable leading indicators for SIF prevention.

For years, safety professionals have recognized that better job site safety briefings contribute to enhanced hazard control and, ultimately, fewer serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs). Now, new peer-reviewed research quantifies that relationship.

A new study from the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA), "Balanced approach to serious injury and fatality prevention: Exploring empirical relationships between short and long-term measures of safety performance," was led by Arnaldo Bayona and co-authored by Dr. Matthew Hallowell, one of the industry's leading safety researchers. Published in the Journal of Safety Research, the paper examined the relationship between pre-job planning, control of high-energy hazards and long-term safety performance across 31 organizations.

The findings were clear: organizations with higher-quality pre-job safety briefings demonstrated stronger control of high-energy hazards, and stronger hazard control was associated with significantly fewer serious injuries and fatalities over time. Each percentage-point increase in briefing quality was associated with an approximately 0.5 percentage-point increase in High-Energy Control Assessment (HECA) scores, while each percentage-point increase in HECA was associated with an approximately 3 percent reduction in the expected number of SIFs, after accounting for worker hours.

Figure 1. Findings from Balanced approach to serious injury and fatality prevention show that higher-quality pre-job safety briefings are associated with stronger control of high-energy hazards (HECA), which in turn is associated with lower expected serious injury and fatality (SIF) rates. Adapted from Bayona et al., Journal of Safety Research (2026).

"Organizations no longer need to wait years for injury statistics to understand whether they are improving. By measuring the quality of work planning and the control of high-energy hazards, organizations can monitor and improve the conditions that lead to serious injuries and fatalities before anyone gets hurt."
- Dr. Matthew Hallowell

Hallowell's observation underscores one of the study's most important findings: Rather than relying solely on lagging indicators such as injury statistics, organizations can measure the quality of pre-work briefings and the effectiveness of hazard controls to identify opportunities for improvement before serious incidents occur.

Why It Matters for Utilities
Utility crews routinely work in environments where high-energy hazards—such as electrical contact, arc flash, heavy rotating equipment, suspended loads and other sources of potentially life-threatening energy—may be present alongside other jobsite hazards. Managing these risks requires more than technical expertise; it depends on thoughtful pre-job planning, clear communication, effective controls and consistent execution before work begins.

For many organizations, pre-job safety briefings have historically been viewed as a compliance requirement. This research reinforces that they are much more than that. High-quality pre-work briefings help crews identify hazards, discuss critical controls and align on how work will be performed safely before stepping into the field.

The findings reinforce a simple but powerful principle: better conversations lead to better hazard control, and better hazard control leads to safer workers.

Turning Safety Science into Everyday Practice
Itron Worker Safety helps utilities digitize and strengthen the safety processes that surround field work, from Pre-Job Briefings (PJBs) and Energy-Based Observations (EBO) to Post-Job Briefs and Job Brief Quality Assessment (JBQA). Smart JSB hazard recognition adds intelligence at the point of work, helping crews recognize potential hazards and strengthen decision-making before work begins. Because these workflows share a common hazard and control taxonomy, the information captured across them creates a continuous feedback loop, giving organizations greater visibility into field risk, helping them learn from how work is planned and performed and enabling continuous improvement in how exposures are identified and controlled.

Findings from Balanced Approach to Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention reinforce why these practices matter. Rather than serving as administrative exercises, they can provide organizations with meaningful leading indicators associated with stronger control of high-energy hazards and improved long-term safety performance. By embedding these practices into connected digital workflows, Itron Worker Safety helps utilities reinforce the behaviors and processes that independent research has linked to safer outcomes.

While technology alone cannot eliminate risk, it helps organizations strengthen safety processes, improve consistency across crews and provide the visibility needed to drive continuous improvement.

"This year’s award recipients (Urbint) are enhancing safety practices and creating actionable solutions that help push our industry forward, and I applaud them for their leadership and unwavering commitment to safety."
- Dan Brouillette, EEI President and CEO, in the context of Urbint winning the 2024 Thomas F. Farrell, II Safety Leadership and Innovation Award

From Lagging to Leading 
Traditional safety metrics, such as recordable incidents or injury rates, remain important. However, they are lagging indicators because they measure what has already happened.

The CSRA research highlights the value of measuring the conditions that help prevent serious incidents in the first place. By evaluating the quality of pre-job planning and the effectiveness of high-energy hazard controls, organizations gain earlier insight into whether safety processes are improving.

For utilities using Itron Worker Safety, these principles are supported in two complementary ways. Smart JSB strengthens hazard recognition at the point of work, while the broader safety ecosystem helps organizations identify and address exposure systematically over time. Together, these capabilities help crews recognize and control risk in the moment while giving safety leaders the data and insights to identify trends, improve controls and reduce exposure across the organization, supporting the proactive approach to SIF prevention highlighted in the research.

Building a Safer Future
The findings from the research reinforce what many safety leaders have long understood; what happens before a job starts has a profound impact on the work that follows.

For utilities, that means investing in consistent work planning, meaningful safety conversations and effective control of high-energy hazards. Digital solutions can help make those practices repeatable, measurable and easier to improve over time.

"This research reinforces what we've long believed: quality work planning is one of the strongest foundations for worker safety. Itron Worker Safety helps utilities standardize critical safety processes, improve visibility and continuously strengthen the practices that help protect workers."
- Matt Crye, Vice President of Resiliency Solutions, Itron

Learn More
Bayona, A., Bhandari, S., Raheemy, Y., & Hallowell, M. (2026). Balanced approach to serious injury and fatality prevention: Exploring empirical relationships between short and long-term measures of safety performance