Preventing falls with pink walls

How behavioural science helped reduce unsafe behaviours on construction sites

The Challenge

Construction environments present constant safety risks. High-pressure working conditions, complex tasks and fast-paced environments can lead to unsafe behaviours becoming normalised over time.

Overbury, responsible for the refurbishment of the Shell Centre on London’s Southbank, wanted to explore new ways to improve safety performance on site.

Rather than relying solely on traditional safety training and enforcement, Overbury partnered with Cowry to apply behavioural science to the problem. The challenge was:

How can behavioural interventions reduce unsafe behaviour on busy construction sites and improve safety culture among operatives?

Our approach

Cowry conducted a behavioural analysis of the construction site to understand the environmental and psychological factors influencing safety behaviours.

Behavioural audit – We observed the working environment, routines and decision-making contexts affecting operatives’ behaviour on site.

Behavioural diagnosis – The audit identified emotional states, social dynamics and habitual behaviours that were contributing to unsafe actions.

Behavioural intervention design – Based on these insights, we designed three interventions aimed at influencing behaviour through environmental cues, incentives and social reinforcement.

Behavioural insight

Our research revealed several behavioural dynamics influencing safety behaviour on site.

The solution

Cowry designed three behavioural interventions to reinforce safe behaviour on site.

1. The Cool Canteen – Break areas were redesigned to encourage calmer emotional states and improve wellbeing. Walls were painted Baker Miller pink, a colour shown to reduce anxiety and aggression. Plants, softer lighting and communal tables were added to create a more relaxed environment where operatives could decompress during breaks. This intervention aimed to reduce stress and prime individuals for safer decision-making.
2. GoldCard reward system – A behavioural incentive scheme was introduced to reward safe behaviour. Operatives received a GoldCard, which granted entry into a weekly prize draw. Unsafe behaviour could result in the card being removed. To strengthen accountability, losing a card meant that the individual’s entire team would be excluded from the prize draw. The scheme leveraged loss aversion and social accountability to encourage safer behaviour.
3. Weekly Walkround – Weekly safety walkrounds were introduced, where operatives received feedback on their behaviour from subcontractors and health and safety specialists. These sessions reinforced safety standards while encouraging public commitment to safe behaviour. The intervention leveraged the behavioural principle of consistency, encouraging individuals to align their future actions with their commitments.

Impact:

The behavioural interventions delivered significant improvements in safety performance. The success of the programme led Overbury to incorporate behavioural safety principles into their wider site standards, including the adoption of pink safety walls across future projects.

The project also received industry recognition, winning the Health, Safety & Wellbeing Initiative of the Year at the Association for Project Safety’s National CDM Awards.