A quick look at the history on worksites followed by some statistics on the modern ones...
1900's
Safety was virtually non-existent. If you weren't prepared to do the job someone else was.
1940's - 1950's
Changes around this time in safety requirements gradually started to begin. This era saw the introduction of gloves, aprons and masks.
Late 1960's
At this time we started to see a more targeted, specific safety campaign emerge.
21st Century
More thorough and specific information being passed to workers including things like formal induction processes.
WORKPLACE SAFETY CULTURE
..."Involves informing the design and successful implementation of a work health and safety policy”. - Safe Work Australia. This includes things like identifying, assessing, and controlling potential and actual risks.
Safe Work Australia focuses on understanding workplace cultures that influence work health and safety behaviours.
In a modern workforce stricter legislations are enforced and businesses have adopted their own systems and procedures.
The Statistics
Serious "work related" injuries in construction decreased by over 30% from 2008-2013. The stats show the safety procedures implemented have been successful and have had positive outcomes for the construction industry.