Is Safety Taken Seriously on Industrial Job Sites?

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The death of a 51-year-old man at an excavation site last Thursday has left a family grieving and has reignited a wider conversation about how workplace safety is viewed in The Bahamas.

While investigators continue to examine what went wrong, safety professionals say the bigger issue isn’t unfamiliar.

It’s a culture that often reacts after tragedy instead of preventing it.

Stacey Jennings is a safety consultant with more than two decades of experience working across high-risk industries.


She says incidents like this are painful reminders of what happens when safety isn’t treated as a daily priority.

Stacey Jennings – Safety Consultant, Jennings Environmental Safety and Security Consultant

“[On] excavation sites, the number one cause of fatality is collapse or being crushed, et cetera, and that’s globally.

“This is not the first time, I’m sure this has happened on a site, and we would hope it would be the last, but if proper measures are not put in place, it won’t be the last.”

She explains that many fatal incidents come down to routine failures: weak planning, limited training, poorly maintained equipment, and a lack of oversight before work even begins.

Stacey Jennings – Safety Consultant, Jennings Environmental Safety and Security Consultant

“ Have other policies and safety, which may or may not be the case in this site, but from my understanding, [a] working alone policy.”

“There are certain industries where, [a] person should not work alone under any circumstances because of the high risk, because if something were to happen, someone else needs to be there to at least perform a rescue to at least know that something has happened.”

Then, what is needed in the industry to prevent such tragedy from occurring again? Here’s her response:

Stacey Jennings – Safety Consultant, Jennings Environmental Safety and Security Consultant

“ What is needed in not just this industry, but in The Bahamas at large, is proper regulations, standards, protocols, procedures, when it comes to safety. [The] Health and Safety at Work Act is not sufficient to protect our workers.”

In the end the professional says safety is a shared responsibility.

Stacey Jennings – Safety Consultant, Jennings Environmental Safety and Security Consultant

“ I think companies and businesses need to take it upon themselves to realize that their employees are their greatest asset, protecting their lives, [and] making sure their workers are healthy, they owe it to their workers…”

“I always tell people, you’re gonna pay for safety. Either you pay upfront or you pay on the back end.”