Strengthening Safety with Hazard Recognition & the Energy Wheel
In construction, safety is more than a checklist—it’s about awareness, anticipation, and action. One of the most effective tools developed to support this mindset is the Energy Wheel, a simple yet powerful way to help workers recognize hazards before they lead to incidents. Thanks to the collaboration of the Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI) partners, Hazard Recognition and the Energy Wheel have become a cornerstone of safety best practices across the industry.
What Is the Energy Wheel?
The Energy Wheel is a visual tool that helps identify the types of energy present on a job site—such as gravity, motion, pressure, electricity, or chemical. Each of these energies has the potential to cause serious harm if not properly controlled. By using the Energy Wheel, workers are trained to pause, assess the environment, and ask:
- What sources of energy are around me?
- How could they cause harm?
- What controls are in place to keep me safe?
This approach makes hazard recognition practical and memorable, turning an abstract concept into an easy-to-use, everyday tool.
CISI Partners Leading the Way
Through CISI collaboration, the Energy Wheel has been shared, refined, and standardized across many leading construction firms. What started as a best practice adopted by a few companies has grown into a key foundation of industry-wide safety programs.
CISI partners have:
- Integrated the Energy Wheel into training and orientations so every worker learns hazard recognition from day one.
- Built it into daily pre-task planning and job hazard analyses, ensuring teams consider energy sources before starting work.
- Shared lessons learned across companies, creating consistency and raising awareness industry-wide.
- Used it in toolbox talks and safety stand-downs to spark meaningful conversations about risk and prevention.
A Culture of Proactive Safety
By making Hazard Recognition and the Energy Wheel central to safety programs, CISI partners are shifting the culture from reactive to proactive. Instead of responding to incidents after they happen, teams are encouraged to recognize hazards early and prevent them altogether.
Workers are empowered to speak up when they see uncontrolled energy, supervisors are trained to reinforce the practice, and leadership reinforces the message that hazard recognition saves lives.
Looking Ahead
Hazard Recognition and the Energy Wheel are more than just tools—they’re part of a mindset. Through their commitment to collaboration, CISI partners have elevated this approach into a foundation for safer jobsites everywhere.
When every worker understands the energies around them and takes steps to control hazards, safety becomes not just a rule, but a shared responsibility. That’s the power of CISI’s partnership—and the reason the Energy Wheel continues to drive safety excellence across the industry.