Construction safety programs typically focus on routine tasks, established workflows, and familiar hazards reinforced through training, job hazard analyses, and toolbox talks. While effective during normal operations, industry experts warn that many serious incidents occur not during business as usual, but when something changes. Non-routine work, including emergency repairs, schedule recovery efforts, night or weekend shifts, weather-related delays, and equipment breakdowns, has become one of the most dangerous and overlooked risk factors on modern construction jobsites.
OSHA's hazard identification guidance specifically notes that emergency and non-routine or infrequent tasks pose distinct hazards that must be identified and managed through planning and procedures. Cory Sherman, CEO of Safety Systems Management, emphasized that non-routine work is inevitable in construction, stating these situations disrupt assumptions, compress timelines, and force crews to adapt quickly, often under significant pressure.
One primary reason safety breaks down during non-routine work is the mismatch between static safety planning and the constantly changing nature of construction sites. Safety plans and pre-task assessments are typically created based on expected conditions, but when real-world conditions deviate, the gap between plan and practice can widen. During non-routine scenarios, crews may rush to recover lost time, supervisors may be stretched thin, and communication channels can fragment, causing even experienced workers to fail to recognize how risk profiles have shifted.
Added pressure from tight deadlines, cost overruns, or unexpected disruptions can further influence decision-making, potentially causing steps normally considered non-negotiable to be skipped. When conditions change quickly, communication often struggles to keep pace, particularly on large or multi-employer jobsites where not everyone receives the same information simultaneously. Subcontractors may continue working under outdated assumptions, unaware that adjacent work has changed or new hazards have been introduced.
Ironically, experienced workers can be especially vulnerable during non-routine tasks not because they lack skill, but because familiarity can breed overconfidence. Non-routine work often appears familiar on the surface while concealing critical differences, such as altered schedules, new crews, different equipment, or changed site conditions. Without deliberate reassessment, these differences may go unnoticed until an incident occurs.
As construction projects grow more complex with larger sites, tighter schedules, fragmented workforces, extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, and ongoing labor shortages, non-routine work is becoming more common. Safety systems designed primarily for predictable conditions are being tested more frequently, requiring expanded approaches rather than complete reinvention. Leading contractors are placing increased emphasis on pause points when work conditions change, re-briefings when schedules or crews shift, clear escalation protocols during unexpected events, and faster, site-wide communication loops across all trades.
Sherman stated that the goal is not to eliminate non-routine work, which he called impossible in construction, but to recognize it as a high-risk phase demanding heightened attention. He noted that construction safety rarely fails because people stop caring, but rather when systems built for predictability collide with reality. For more information about safety systems, visit https://www.safetysystemsmanagement.com.
