General contractor and design-builder for the Pacific Northwest · Since 1971

The first hour: why every shift starts with a plan

Pre-task planning is not new. Doing it every day, with the crew rather than to the crew, is the difference.

SafetyJune 18, 20265 min readBy Samuel Adeyemi

Three people in high-visibility vests talking in a metal-clad workshop.

Every Ferrowgate shift starts the same way. The crew stands at the work, not in the trailer, and plans the next task together: what could hurt someone, what will stop it, and who has the authority to stop the work. We call it the First Hour, although it takes fifteen minutes.

With the crew, not to the crew

The foreman does not read out a form. The person doing the task explains the hazards, and the crew adds what they see. New workers speak first, because they see what everyone else has stopped noticing.

Stop-work authority is real

Anyone on our sites can stop work, including trade partners and visitors. The first time someone uses it on a project, the superintendent thanks them in front of the crew. That matters more than any poster.

What we measure

We track leading indicators: plans completed, near misses reported and stop-work calls. Recordable injuries tell us what has already gone wrong. Leading indicators help prevent the next one.

Demo article written for the template. General information, not legal, financial or engineering advice.