Small contractor safety is improving faster than at any point in recent years. That's the headline finding of the 2026 SmartMarket Report on Safety Management in the Construction Industry, published by Dodge Construction Network and CPWR with funding from NIOSH.
But construction is still one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. More than 1,000 workers died on the job in 2024. That number puts everything else in perspective.
The new report found that small construction companies — those with fewer than 20 workers — are now making safety gains faster than midsize or large firms. The catch? They still lag behind those larger firms in some key areas.
If you run a small construction company in Michigan, this isn't a story about falling behind. It's the opposite. You're heading in the right direction. The job now is to find the biggest safety gaps and close them one at a time.
Where small construction firms are winning
The report points to three areas where small contractor safety practices are gaining ground.
Heat illness prevention. More than 80% of contractors now use the basics — water, rest, shade, training, and emergency plans. Many also use weather apps and heat-protective gear. Small firms are leading that growth.
Online safety training. Smaller firms have leaned hard into digital training. It works well for refreshers and short topic-based modules that don't need a classroom or a live instructor every shift.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). EAP use at small firms jumped from 16% to 25% since the last report. That's a big move, even though small firms still lag larger ones.
These aren't small wins. Heat is one of the fastest-growing safety risks OSHA is watching. And EAPs are one of the best tools we have to address mental health in construction — an industry with one of the highest suicide rates of any job.
Where the safety gaps still are
Three gaps stood out. All three can be fixed without spending a lot of money.
1. Safety leadership in pre-job planning. Almost every contractor (95%) makes a safety plan before work starts. But only 43% bring in a safety director to help build that plan. That gap matters. Firms that involve a safety director in construction planning see:
- 80% see reduced recordable injury rates (vs. 63% without)
- 72% report better worker understanding and engagement (vs. 46%)
- 35% see gains in productivity, fewer reworks, and better schedules (vs. 20%)
For a small contractor, hiring a full-time safety director isn't always realistic. But the work a safety director does is. You can get the same results with outside help — hazard checks, on-site inspections, and a real pre-job review process.
2. Construction safety technology adoption. Fewer than half of contractors use newer tools like wearable sensors or VR-based training. Tools that are common on jobsites — drones, laser scanning, BIM — are usually used to boost productivity, not safety. The report calls this a big missed chance. It's right.
3. Mental health and worker well-being. Beyond EAPs, 52% of contractors say their workers often drive over 100 miles a day or stay overnight away from home. That kind of stress and lack of sleep affects judgment, reaction time, and turnover. Most safety programs aren't built to handle it.
How small contractors can close the safety gaps
You don't need to rebuild your whole safety program. The biggest wins usually come from picking one problem and fixing it well. Here are a few good places to start.
Get help with the safety director role — even part-time. You don't have to hire a full-time director. Scheduled on-site inspections, hazard checks, and recurring compliance visits can do the same work without the headcount. SSI runs this kind of program for small construction companies that can't justify a full-time hire.
Make hands-on safety training stick. Online modules are fine for awareness. But the high-risk work — fall protection rescue, gas detection, confined space entry — needs real practice. SSI delivers hands-on safety training on-site or at our Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids locations. The scenarios are based on what crews actually see in the field.
Audit your gas detection and fall protection gear. A lot of incidents trace back to a gas monitor that wasn't bump-tested that morning, a harness that aged past its inspection date, or an anchor point that was never engineered. We handle calibration, bump testing, repair, and rental for gas monitors. We also inspect and design fall protection systems.
Tighten inventory, not headcount. Smart VMI (vendor-managed inventory) programs cut down on stockouts. They also give you usage data that doubles as proof of compliance. For small firms, this is often the easiest win. Supervisors stop chasing down PPE. You get a clear record of what was issued and to whom.
The bigger picture for small contractor safety
The report's main message is that small contractors are leading the recent safety gains. That's worth a moment. The companies with the fewest resources are moving the fastest. That's not a ceiling. That's momentum.
The next step is closing the leadership and technology gaps without adding overhead. That's where a partner who can take on the day-to-day work — training, equipment readiness, on-site checks, inventory — earns a spot on your team.
Where are you feeling the most friction in your safety program right now? That's the place to start.
FAQ: Small Contractor Safety
What is the biggest safety risk for small construction companies? Fall-related injuries remain the leading cause of construction fatalities, but the 2026 SmartMarket Report shows that the biggest gap for small contractors is the lack of safety leadership in pre-job planning. Only 43% of contractors involve a safety director when building their pre-construction safety plan, even though firms that do see significantly lower injury rates.
Do small contractors need a full-time safety director? Not necessarily. The function matters more than the title. Many small construction companies get the same outcomes by using outside safety consultants, scheduled third-party hazard assessments, and a structured pre-job review process — without carrying a full-time hire on the books.
How are small contractors improving safety in 2026? According to the Dodge Construction Network and CPWR 2026 report, small contractors (firms with fewer than 20 employees) are leading the industry in three areas: heat illness prevention, online safety training adoption, and Employee Assistance Program rollouts. They're growing faster than midsize or large firms in each of those categories.
What does a small construction company safety program need? At minimum: a written health and safety plan, documented hazard assessments before each job, current OSHA-compliant training records, regularly inspected fall protection and gas detection equipment, and a process for handling near-misses. Most small firms have the basics — the gaps are usually in leadership involvement and equipment readiness.
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