Central Insurance Blog

For many small to mid-sized construction companies, hiring a dedicated safety coordinator can feel like a luxury.

Shawn Gentry, Senior Loss Control Construction Manager at Central Insurance, sees that hesitation when contractors assume safety support is primarily about compliance or documentation. Safety leadership affects far more than avoiding a serious loss, however. It can influence productivity, claim processes, workforce stability, and the time owners spend reacting to problems rather than running the business.

In this article, we take a closer look at why construction companies often hesitate to invest in safety, how that decision quietly increases exposures as operations grow, and why a safety coordinator delivers value far beyond compliance. 

Safety Isn’t Optional 

A clean loss history can create a false sense of confidence for contractors with minimal losses. It’s easy to assume current practices work when nothing has gone wrong. Gentry cautions that this assumption often overlooks how quickly risk escalates as companies grow.

“When I see the construction work being done without dedicated safety oversight, it’s typically only a matter of time before a big claim happens,” Gentry says. “It’s less about whether risk exists and more about how risk is managed as operations grow.”

Preventable hazards can become routine without a dedicated safety coordinator. Shortcuts start to feel normal when no one owns day-to-day details, and that pattern can contribute to serious, costly exposures. 

“Most hesitation comes down to cost and perception,” Gentry says. “There’s a misperception that safety slows jobs down, or there is no reason to worry about a problem that hasn’t happened yet. That mindset changes after a major loss.”

The Role of a Safety Coordinator 

Some contractors misperceive the safety coordinator as a “jobsite cop.” In practice, effective safety coordination is about building structure in an environment where conditions change quickly, and crews are under constant pressure to stay on schedule.

A safety coordinator helps translate expectations into habits that hold up in the field, including:

• Proactive hazard identification before work begins
• Consistent training across projects and crews
• Documentation that supports jobsite accountability and helps organize information when incidents happen.

Consistency matters more as teams grow. Informal practices may work for small teams, but those systems begin to break down as crews and project scope grow.

The Value of a Safety Coordinator

The value of a safety coordinator becomes especially clear after an incident. With a dedicated safety coordinator in place, early structure helps reduce confusion, supports response efforts, and may reduce the likelihood of escalation. Without safety coordination, leadership can quickly get pulled into reactive decision-making at the worst possible moment. 

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Investing in a Safety Culture 

The absence of safety leadership affects company culture in ways contractors may not notice right away. Employees who don’t feel supported may hesitate to report near misses or minor injuries, allowing hazards to persist. Over time, silence can erode trust and contribute to higher turnover, especially when crews start to question whether leadership prioritizes their well-being.

Dedicated safety coordination helps break that cycle by creating routines that reinforce accountability without turning safety into a disruption. Expectations are clear, communication is consistent, and hazards are more likely to be addressed early.  

“Safety coordinators shape culture,” Gentry says. “When people know safety matters, that mindset spreads.” 

The Central Difference

Safety coordinators play a critical role in shaping jobsite habits, reinforcing expectations, and creating a culture of safety. Central strengthens safety efforts with an added layer of expertise. 

Our loss control specialists work with construction clients to identify emerging hazards and offer practical guidance aligned with the realities of the work. Policyholders can also access Central’s loss prevention library, which includes tools designed to support ongoing training and safety awareness.  

A safety coordinator helps contractors move from good intentions to consistent habits on every jobsite. Central’s loss control support strengthens efforts with practical guidance and resources that help safety leaders focus on key exposures and support alignment as operations grow.

Are you considering adding a safety coordinator to your team or building more structure into your safety program? Talk to an agent to learn how Central can support your construction business.