Early Identification of Critical Risks in Construction Can Save Lives

January 26, 2026

The Canadian Construction Safety Council (CCSC), a coalition of leading construction companies dedicated to building a safer Canada, has released its Critical Risks Guideline, a comprehensive framework designed to prevent serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) in the construction industry. 

“Safety is a shared responsibility, not a tool for competitive advantage,” says Ryan Tones, President, Peter Kiewit Sons ULC. “This guideline draws on the combined expertise of our member companies and reinforces our commitment to transparency and collaboration in making our industry safer for everyone.” 

The new guideline identifies 13 critical risks with the potential to pose significant threats to worker safety and outlines safe start checks (SSC) to help eliminate or reduce these risks. It enables frontline workers to confirm the controls or safeguards designed to prevent fatalities and serious injuries are in place.  

SSCs are designed to encourage workers to have empowering conversations about what performing a task involving critical risks really means and what they need to do to ensure work begins in a safe, controlled and hazard-aware manner. Anyone performing work is encouraged to adopt a go/no-go approach to ensure work doesn’t begin until the proper controls and safeguards are in place.  

“The Critical Risks Guideline was created to protect and empower frontline workers, and to change focus from workers having the stop work if something is wrong to assuring safeguards are in place and functioning as designed, so it’s OK to start,” says Peter Lineen, EVP HSE, Bird Construction. 

The 13 Critical Risks 

Critical risks are inherent in the construction industry and, if left unchecked, can lead to fatalities or life-altering injuries. The CCSC has identified 13 critical risks:  

• Working at Heights 
• Working around mobile equipment 
• Ground disturbance and excavation 
• Energy isolation 
• Confined spaces 
• Hoisting and rigging 
• Driving 
• Public interface 
• Working near traffic 
• Working near water 
• Working near live rail 
• Hazardous materials 
• Working near radiological sources 

Safe Start Checks  

Each critical risk includes a series of SSCs, simple statements to help confirm proper controls are implemented. They also include easy-to-follow diagrams to help workers understand the steps to take to ensure a safe work environment. 

Safe start checks prompt workers to identify: 

• The steps or responsibilities that may be confusing. 
• Any factors that could result in mistakes being made. 
• Any factors that make the task difficult to perform. 
• How to resolve issues before starting a task, when to stop work and where to seek help. 

Download the CCSC’s Critical Risks Guideline here.

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