Measuring safety perceptions among contract workers in a steel plant

What is shaping steel

Steel reaches users through producers, distributors and retailers, serving fabricators, builders and OEMs. Brand trust, price and availability decide which bar or sheet is bought.

• Fabricators and builders influence retail steel brands
• Distributor networks decide availability
• Branded steel competes with unbranded on trust

A steel manufacturer, working in Chhattisgarh. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A steel manufacturer

Sector

Steel

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Quantitative research, Qualitative research, Reporting & insights

The plant had strong safety systems on paper, but serious incidents still involved contract workers more often than permanent staff. Leadership wanted to understand how contract workers experienced safety on the shop floor.

• Deliver on the brief: measuring safety perceptions among contract workers in a steel plant.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of permanent.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 7 weeks.

The work focused on 1,800 permanent.

• permanent1,800

Audiences we typically reach in steel

FabricatorsBuilders and contractorsOEM buyersSteel dealers and stockistsRetail home builders

Coverage: Chhattisgarh. Market: India.

• India

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Anonymous tablet survey
3. 3Small group discussions
4. 4Insight

We ran an anonymous survey on tablets in Hindi and Chhattisgarhi across all shifts, covering training, equipment, supervision, reporting and pressure to finish work. Small group discussions held away from supervisors explored the reasons behind the answers. Supervisors were briefed but not present during any session, and results were reported only for groups of ten or more so that no individual could be identified.

Quantitative researchQualitative researchReporting & insights

permanent

1,800

• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Contract workers received less practical training and were reluctant to report near misses for fear of losing work.
• A repeat survey a year later was planned to check whether contract workers felt the change on the ground.

Anonymity and independence were essential for contract workers to speak openly.

• Build on the core insight: anonymity and independence were essential for contract workers to speak openly.
• Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: contract workers received less practical training and were reluctant to report near misses for fear of losing work.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• The company introduced standard safety induction for all contractors, a no-blame reporting line and contractor representation in safety committees.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: how do fabricators choose steel?