Safety Awards - ABC and AGC

Industry associations honor members' commitment to safety

By Sheila Bacon

Texas Construction proudly presents safety-award winning Texas projects and their team members, including several feted in national programs

Several Texas construction firms were honored recently in two national award ceremonies. The Association of General Contractors and the Associated Builders and Contractors held separate programs to honor contractors committed to safe working environments.

The AGC of America bestowed its AGC/Willis Construction Safety Excellence Awards during the association’s 88th annual convention held in San Antonio in March. AGC’s awards program requires finalists to achieve zero worksite fatalities and examines the contractor’s safety program. Entrants undergo a thorough screening process to ensure that their company has committed to a safe worksite at every level of employment, as well as a successful safety training program, worksite hazard identification and control and safety program innovation.

The Associated Builders and Contractors recognized its members for their attention to safety in June at the 17th annual Excellence in Construction and National Safety Excellence awards celebration at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

The 2006 ABC National Safety Excellence Award winners were selected from ABC member firms achieving Platinum status in ABC’s Safety Training and Evaluation Process, or STEP, program. Selection criteria for the national safety winners included each member’s self-evaluation scores, lost workday case rates, total recordable rates and interviews conducted by members of ABC’s National Safety Committee.

Texas winners of the AGC/Willis Construction Safety Excellence Awards are:

FIRST PLACE

Specialty Contractor: 100,001- 300,000 work hours Peterson Beckner Industries Inc., Houston

As a previous first place ABC Construction Safety Excellence Awards winner in 2004, Peterson Beckner becomes the first specialty contractor in the United States to win two first place CSEA awards.

The steel and precast concrete construction subcontractor’s safety-focused work ethic includes weekly “toolbox” safety meeting training sessions that follow an annual topics schedule. The mandatory training for all employees covers the same topics on the same day for every project, so each employee that works for Peterson Beckner for an entire year is trained or re-trained in every topic covered in the firm’s safety handbook regardless of how often the employee moves from project to project during the year.

Key personnel attend third-party seminars and training sessions whenever possible, and Peterson Beckner’s in-house management personnel also present periodic full-day training sessions covering safety-related and quality-related topics of interest.

Through the Safety Incentive Program, the company has given away more than $470,000 in cash to field employees between 1996 and 2006 based on the achievement of monthly safety requirements on jobsites. During this period, the company’s EMR has been reduced by 53 percent.

Municipal Division: Under 100,000 work hours Tremur Consulting Contractors Inc., Del Valle

The employees of Tremur Consulting Contractors take safety seriously: in 21 years of business, the company has had zero lost-time accidents.

“No one wants to be the guy that breaks that record!” says Tremur president Chris Murray.

The general contracting firm performs sitework and site utilities, and opened a plumbing division in 2006. With the creation of the new division came an increase in employees: the firm grew from 13 to 30 employees last year, and it continues to grow.

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Tremur Consulting Contractors focuses on creating a strong safety culture in which no unsafe action is tolerated by any employee. Each new employee is closely evaluated, ensuring that they are highly trained and fit within the culture. An annual team-building trip, with eligibility related to safe work performance throughout the year, motivates employees to be even more aware of their safety.

Employees must complete a 10-hour OSHA class and first aid/CPR classes, as well as excavation and confined spaces training. On the jobsite, each Tremur employee wears a yellow shirt. The shirts make the workers more visible and also underscore the company’s dedication to the safety program.

The company places a great deal of trust in its employees, Murray says. Every employee has the right to shut down a jobsite for any unsafe act.

Building Division: Under 100,000 work hours MDI Inc. General Contractors, Irving

All new MDI employees are required to attend a mandatory safety orientation conducted by the firm’s safety director. Utilizing videos, hand-outs and manuals, the new employee is familiarized with MDI’s comprehensive approach to safety. The employee is trained at the jobsite by the superintendent and re-oriented after 90 days. Manuals are reviewed during the company’s bi-weekly superintendents’ meeting, and superintendents share information from each jobsite with other employees.

All MDI employees, even the office personnel, are required to have an OSHA 10-hour certification as well as CPR/first aid training. Every superintendent and project manager either has or is in the process of obtaining the Construction Site Safety Certificate or an OSHA 30-hour certificate.

Attention to jobsite safety extends to MDI’s subcontractors as well. Subcontractors’ safety performance is tracked by utilizing pre-qualifications, DBO2-Safetynet and post-job debriefing. It is not unusual for a subcontractor to be eliminated if its employees exhibit a poor safety attitude.

MDI’s quarterly safety incentive program for field employees serves to recognize the importance of a safe work ethic. A drawing for gift certificates and other prizes is held once a quarter for all employees that have not had any incidents. Each winner is also presented with a safety excellence certificate to hang at their site to display their commitment to safety.

Building Division: 700,001-1 million work hours Tellespsen Builders LP, Houston

Tellepsen’s aggressive safety program has likely played a large role in the Houston general contractor’s impressive safety record. The company boasts an Experience Modifier Rate that is four times better than the industry average, and has completed more than 2.9 million man-hours without a lost-time injury.

All personnel on site are required to attend weekly safety meetings to reinforce safety hazard recognition and training. Also, a mandatory monthly safety meeting is conducted for all superintendents up to executive management. Attendance is tracked and records of sign-in are maintained with detailed contents of the meeting. In addition, the monthly safety meeting is video taped.

On the jobsite, all safe and unsafe trends are tracked to help prevent accidents. These reports are shared with the site specific project team, subcontractors, owners and all other job sites to preempt unsafe acts.

Every Tellepsen employee receives job-specific training and procedures instruction before and during a project. Supervisors receive an OSHA 30-hour program in addition to supervisory training and refresher training programs. A minimum of an OSHA 10-hour program is required for field operation employees.

Employees are rewarded for working safely and preventing accidents. Safe acts are recognized monthly and annually. Workers reporting near misses are also given awards. An employee’s safety record factors strongly in the determination of bonuses.

Tellepsen practices a zero-tolerance policy for the use of a prohibited substance. The firm follows a vigorous testing policy that includes pre-employment testing, periodic unannounced random testing, testing for reasonable cause and post-accident testing.

SECOND PLACE

Specialty Contractor: Over 1 million work hours Dynamic Systems Inc. Austin

The safety culture at Dynamic Systems Inc. empowers employees to demand safe working conditions at every jobsite.

When Dynamic Systems crews encountered resistance to their procedures surrounding the relocation of gas pipes at a semiconductor plant recently, they did not back down. Crews held fast to their detailed tie-in plan, despite suggestions from the general contractor to bypass several critical steps. The gravity of the situation was eventually realized by the general contractor: noncompliance with the approved plan would have resulted in the shut-down of the entire fab operation.

Dynamic Systems has a number of safety initiatives that encourage such safe practices. The company’s Work Interruption Report is a document created to make employees aware when near-miss incidents occur at jobsites. Crews also use a Jobsite Recordkeeping Binder specific to each jobsite that includes safety records and reports, first-aid information, vehicle safety inspections and personal protective equipment checklists.

A recently implemented practice involves conducting four-hour safety training on each job pertaining to the job contract and special requirements. No employees are to work unless undergoing this four-hour safety class held by Dynamic Systems’ safety representatives.

Building Division: Under 100,000 work hours Workman Commercial Construction, Austin

When the roofing and masonry subcontractors on one of Workman Commercial Construction’s recent jobs demonstrated multiple problems regarding fall protection equipment, Workman project leaders sprang into action. Even though the project was on a tight schedule and any delay could have serious consequences, the Workman superintendent had both subcontractors stop work and would not let them return without proper training and equipment. The superintendent and project manager also helped coordinate onsite training for the subcontractors’ crews from a safety consulting firm so that the workers could be properly trained and the job could get back under way.

This commitment to safety above all else is proof that Workman Commercial Construction’s safety program is working. The general contracting firm has formed an all-volunteer safety committee that meets quarterly to discuss solutions to common jobsite safety concerns. In order to get feedback from all employees at once, Workman hosts a yearly retreat in which the superintendents, project managers and operations executives discuss, among other items, project safety. In this open forum, the success and failures for the year are reviewed and expectations are set for the following year. 

Safety is rewarded through a quarterly recognition program that recognizes the highest ranked superintendents. The ranking is based on a quantitative score from a bi-weekly safety inspection conducted by Workman’s safety manager.

Building Division: 700,001-1 million work hours CF Jordan, Dallas

Over the past four years, CF Jordan company leaders have implemented a safety plan that seeks to make safety one of the firm’s main tenets. One of the 2006 goals of the Safety and Health Accident Reduction Plan was to have all superintendents and project managers enroll in the OSHA 30-hour training course. CF Jordan’s risk/safety management team provided safety training for the balance of the firm’s employees.

CF Jordan contractually requires all subcontractors to have a documented and visible safety process. Each subcontractor must participate in a kick-off meeting in which the safety manager reviews specific subcontractor safety requirements. CF Jordan has established preferred subcontractor relationships as a result of its stringent safety criteria.Over the past three years, the Dallas Residential and Commercial divisions have worked more than 500,000 work hours without an OSHA recordable accident contributing to the reduction of the company EMR to .44 in 2006.

A Safety Incentive program provides recognition opportunities for employees exhibiting safe work practices. Every quarter, each jobsite selects a subcontractor or CF Jordan crew with strong safety performance to receive a certificate of recognition and a safety luncheon for all personnel at the jobsite. Other recognition includes coffee/breakfast snacks, lunches, motivational talks and incentive awards including T-shirts and key chains that promote CF Jordan safety and enhance camaraderie.

Texas winners of the Associated Builders and Contractors’ 17th annual Excellence in Construction and National Safety Excellence awards are:

General Contractor: Constructors & Associates Inc., Austin

Instead of using cumbersome, one-size-fits-all checklists to assess jobsite safety, Constructors and Associates’ safety program is concise and relies on the knowledge and skill of the company’s employees to identify the specific risks presented by the work on a particular project. It also relies on their leadership skills to identify the safety needs of the subcontractors. Once the Constructors and Associates project team assesses these variables, they customize the site safety program to address the required safety controls. This interaction produces an elevated level of trust among the subcontractors, regardless of the contractual relationship, and enables the project team to elevate collective project performance expectations.

Project team leaders put this practice into play recently during foundation work at a former Air Force base in Fort Worth. Constructors and Associates’ foundation piers were located within inches of a 15-in.-high pressure gas main that was not marked. The preplanning process in Constructors and Associates’ safety program, coupled with the thorough job safety analysis by the subcontractor, contributed to the discovery of the gas main before a disaster occurred. The project was completed on time and on budget.

Another key aspect of Constructors and Associates’ safety program is the firm’s new accident investigation procedure than includes “near-miss” incidents. The procedure is structured to allow the project team to examine the root cause of the mishap and to correct the underlying problem before it happens again.

General Contractor: The Mundy Cos., Houston

The Mundy Cos.’s safety mission is to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for all company employees and those who work with the company by continually reducing incidents with a safety goal of no injuries. The company follows a prevention-based safety program. The leadership of The Mundy Cos. recognizes its responsibility for promoting the highest standards of safety, health and environmental quality, and actively seeks to develop and maintain appropriate systems, procedures and plans to achieve the mission and objectives of the company.

The company is active in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs, which promote worksite-based safety and health through cooperation among management, labor and OSHA. The Mundy Companies have earned VPP designation at nine locations.

The firm actively engages its employees in the problem solving process, which leads to safer and more productive worksites.

Heavy and Civil Engineering Contractor: Triple “S” Industrial Corp., Lumberton

Located in southeast Texas, Triple “S” Industrial Corp. specializes in plant maintenance and construction services. The firm provides mechanical, civil and electrical services; pipe and vessel repairs and fabrication; and steel fabrication and erection services to petrochemical, pipeline, refining, paper and gas processing facilities.

The Triple “S” Employee Mentoring Program identifies employees new to a project and pairs new employees with seasoned employees for a probationary period. The pair works together, giving the new employee an opportunity to learn how Triple “S” and its clients want jobs done. While the new employee is learning new procedures and policies, Triple “S” employees have additional time to evaluate the new worker’s experience and safe work practices. This process makes worksites safer by placing more eyes on the new workers, giving the new workers more time to adjust to new policies and procedures and giving Triple “S” employees time to instill the firm’s safety values in the new employee.

A more stringent audit system that allows every employee to identify safety issues has created more safety awareness throughout the company. Previously, the audits - which ensure safe work practices and procedures are being followed - were conducted only by supervisors and safety personnel.

Specialty Contractor: ProTherm Services Group LLC, Houston

In an effort to maintain safety as a core value amidst the region-wide workforce crisis, ProTherm Services Group leaders formed a Workforce Development Team to address the challenges of recruiting, assessing, training and retaining a skilled workforce. As a result of these efforts, the firm has experienced a significant increase in total exposure hours from 2004 to the present, with sustained improvement over the 2004 OSHA incident rate. An accelerated training program offers weekly scheduled training modules, increased inspections and employee participation in auditing.

Supervisors are expected to actively promote a positive safe work culture. A number of these efforts are tracked and measured, including attendance and participation in safety meetings; safety audits; behavioral interventions; and employee retention and turnover. By tracking leading indicators as well as trailing indicators, trends are identified to eliminate the possibility of a more serious event which could result in personal injury.

Performance indexing is incorporated into the overall measurement of performance criteria and distributed to the appropriate personnel as a management tool. Measuring performance along with participation and training has served as a vehicle to drive success in safety execution.