During the early stages of constructing a six-story housing project, Walsh Construction’s crew discovered that some high-voltage distribution lines would be a challenge because of their proximity to the building. The company discussed it with the power company and learned that the power could not be disconnected or grounded.

As a team, Walsh developed a plan to use an aerial mobile elevated work platform to safely work around the active power lines. One of the hazards of the MEWP, however, is that an operator could swing the wrong way into the lines. To mitigate that risk, the project team, safety staff and the crew performing the work decided to post an employee at the ground controls to hit the emergency stop if the basket moved in the wrong direction.

“This was a fairly simple plan and was successful in mitigating the hazard,” said Safety Manager Nate Ricker. “This demonstrates the full team working together to keep safety at the forefront.”

About 10 years ago Walsh developed a specific safety manual for occupied renovation projects that is distributed to project team members before they start work that could impact children, seniors, disabled people and other residents. The manual has been updated over the years to reflect lessons learned and is valuable for the project team and property managers.

Walsh hosts a special event each year to recognize the Safe Person of the Year, which is voted on by employees. Employees are provided with safety training, high-visibility apparel and other items, and safety is promoted during meetings and through the company’s newsletters and other visuals.

“Employees are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings and to not only report any concerns they may have, but also any examples of good execution of safe practices on their job sites,” Ricker said.

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As Rosendin was working on an occupied building in central Oregon its team saw a rash of scissor lifts damaging walls, leading to a plan to use spotters and equipment training. Dubbed SPOT, the program stands for Spotter always required; People have the right of way; Observe all movement; and Two-way communication.

Another safety program that arose from a project is its LOTO Plan and shutdown sequence that can be implemented when they are required to shut off the power and clean electrical equipment.

This year Rosendin introduced its new Craft Safety Empowerment Program. CSEP members work in the field and are identified by a different-colored vest. They serve as safety mentors and meet with the project manager every two weeks to discuss what they have seen and heard from craft employees.

“We use this program to show our field employees respect by asking for their help in creating a safety culture where the whole is greater than the parts of our program,” Safety Manager Josh Johnson said, adding its subcontractors’ employees are encouraged to be part of the CSEP.

Rosendin also has developed 16 training modules. While the modules initially were intended for its safety professionals, a module on one-line electrical training showed that several journeymen electricians also did not understand the complex systems.

“Now when we have a class we have journeymen, project managers, owners and safety professionals all learning together,” Johnson said.
Rosendin has shared the training modules and CSEP through NECA and with other contractors. It also works with tool manufacturers to design safer tools. These include a band saw that stops working if you remove your hands, which is now on the market, and ladders with the bottom step in a different color to help employees with bifocal glasses see the lower step.

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P&C Construction’s safety planning starts before client interviews, giving the company the ability to plan for site logistics on vehicle traffic, pedestrian safety and overall site safety. It also helps guarantee the project is planned and budgeted correctly.

“While there are always surprises, there are much fewer now,” said Safety Manager Rick McMurry. “And when they do arise, we are in the best possible position to make sound choices.”

One example is when a P&C crew found more hazardous soil on a project than the survey identified. Its safety plan and the plan it approved for its site-work partner provided clear steps for stopping work. Within 24 hours of the discovery, environmental engineers and testing agents were on site and cleanup was underway.

In 2015, the company saw a spike in emergency medical responses. “That wake-up call forced us to honestly and fearlessly look into every procedure, process and behavior,” McMurry said. “Rather than presuming that all workers were coming in both well trained and safety conscious, we set a baseline for training not only new workers but also returning workers in our four-hour safety orientation given to all workers, field and office.”

P&C Construction, which received a 2019 AGC Construction Safety Excellence Award, updates its safety program regularly and has a policy of calling OSHA for consultations on every project. In doing so, its consultant found a gap in its process oversight and ability to quickly confirm that compliance needed improvement. Within 48 hours, it had a new cloud-based collaborative system running and all of its project engineers trained in its use.

The company’s Safety Advisory Council brings together employees from all levels on a volunteer basis. Members discuss safety issues they face and, with the guidance of the safety manager, develop plans for addressing each challenge.

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Neil Kelly Co. was replacing a section of ridge beam on a three-story home, not a project it typically does, so Safety Manager Lisa Pickert and her team developed a special plan. They rented a mobile crane unit and hired an experienced operator, who taught the crew the standard signals used to direct the crane.

“We had to mark off the property as to where people, including the homeowners, could and could not stand. Ahead of time, we designated each person’s role during the process and included two observe-only individuals who could call out concerns along the way,” she said. “It was a nail-biter, but with preparation and process the job went smoothly.”

Pickert noted that having the right tool for the job is true, even in safety. As a result, the company has purchased several unique tools for its carpenters to use, including a goat ladder, chicken ladder and air sled.

Another piece of equipment that helps the carpenters do their jobs more safely is their “bump cap,” a hard, plastic-lined baseball cap. These help protect a worker during a demolition project with a cast iron pipe overhead. “Five bumps later, the carpenter was very glad they were wearing the protective head gear. In contrast, another carpenter who wasn’t wearing any head protection banged right into the cast iron pipe with their forehead,” she said.

Air quality is a big concern, not only for clients and their property but also for job sites and crews working in them. In 2016, Neil Kelly Co. began deploying the BuildClean HEPA Filter at its major construction sites to create dust-free environments with high-performance air filtration technology.

In 2017, Neil Kelly Co. received an award from the National Association of Home Builders: Remodeler Safety Program of the Year.

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Two years ago, MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions Safety Director Lee Pyfrom attended a conference in Spokane, Washington, where one of the classes was about reducing strains and sprains.

“The presenter had everyone stand up and try to touch their toes. Then we were all given muscle rollers. We rolled out our calves, hamstrings and quads for 30 seconds per muscle group. We then touched our toes again. I was amazed by how much further I was able to extend my hands toward my toes. I gained about 2-1/2 inches,” he said.

The next week, Pyfrom ordered about 150 muscle rollers for each of the company’s shop employees. Since adding them to the company’s pre-shift stretching program, no strains or sprains have occurred.

MacDonald-Miller’s safety culture begins with the New Hire Safety Orientation. Pyfrom and his team teach new hires how to work safely and empower employees to stop work if they feel something isn’t safe. They emphasize that when employees concentrate on working safely, then quality production will naturally occur. They also teach that taking shortcuts and working in an unsafe manner is not doing the company any favors.

“I am the safety director here and have a staff of three safety managers who I am always telling to use the standard of, ‘If something is not safe enough for us, then it isn’t safe enough for our employees,’” he said, adding he says the same thing to all of the company’s foremen during the Foremen Safety 101 class he teaches.

“Lastly, I teach my staff to say ‘hi’ and ask about their families in a genuine effort to get to know the crews. I believe that it is the little things that gain trust,” Pyfrom said.

All the measures in place have culminated with MacDonald-Miller being recognized as the 2019 AGC Safety Excellence Award winner.

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Noting that every project is unique and requires different aspects of safety to be addressed, JE Dunn develops site-specific safety plans. As an example, it had to adjust its safety plan due to high levels of contaminants found in the soil on the recent Robertson Collaborative Life Sciences project.

The company contracted with an environmental consultant to develop a health, safety and management plan for abatement and soil remediation. Cleaning stations had to be installed for employees to wash off prior to leaving the site. To maintain OSHA compliance, JE Dunn incorporated the changes into the site-specific safety plan and on-site safety orientation. The plan was audited quarterly for compliance.

“JE Dunn places a level of extreme importance on safety in everything we do, from safety leadership training, monthly all-hands safety discussions, weekly toolbox talks and daily hazard analysis,” said Safety Manager John McKenzie. “We discuss safety and the personal choice to remain safe while performing even the smallest task to every individual on our sites. It is this personal choice that helps guide our safety culture because safety is everyone, everywhere, all the time.”

The company recognizes safe practices through barbecues, safety coins and an annual award ceremony. Its trainings range from ergonomics to electrical safety to emergency preparedness. Its monthly 5-on-5 lunches pair project leaders with craft workers from a variety of trades to discuss safety concerns and improvements. Daily stretch and flex on job sites and in the office helps project teams gauge the health and well-being of their co-workers and promotes camaraderie.

In addition, JE Dunn project teams have implemented a collaborative group of safety managers, project managers, maintenance, various stakeholders, construction trade partners and designers to develop a Prevention Through Design program. The program analyzes design from a safety perspective and develops solutions to minimize risks.

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J.E. McAmis had nearly completed an accident-free rehabilitation of the North Jetty on the Columbia River for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as of late October. The job involves an excavator sitting on the jetty and placing stones as per template design. Stones are fed to the excavator via crane or by front-end loader, and the stones range from 3 tons to 38 tons. Total man-hours at the end of October were more than 15,500.

“Every morning the entire crew gathers in a central location. Every person on the job site, management to laborers, is involved in the morning safety discussions,” said Safety Manager Sheri Brenner. “Each person has the opportunity to provide feedback. For people who are not outspoken, there is a suggestion box that is available for input at any time.”

Brenner noted that all suggestions are taken by management and discussed and, if someone feels compelled to bring up a topic, the importance for discussion is not discredited.

J.E. McAmis worked on a critical repair on the North Jetty in 2015. During that time, there were a couple of instances in which changes in policy improved the outcome. When starting the rehabilitation work on the jetty, the policy was implemented that any person who worked on the project would wear a climber-style helmet and personnel exposure to the rocks and waves would be minimized.

J.E. McAmis is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business that was founded by John McAmis Sr. and his wife, Renee McAmis, shortly after John returned from two tours in Vietnam, where he served in both the U.S. Army and as a Seabee in the Navy. The company specializes in pile driving, dock construction, dredging, marine concrete work, drilling and blasting, jetty and breakwater construction, and dam and spillway maintenance, among other services.

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As a team from Hydro-Temp Mechanical worked at the Sam Barlow High School job site, one craft professional noticed that after every Monday morning safety meeting all 110 construction workers on the project had to walk through the school’s parking lot to get to their designated work area.

“I watched as we dodged school buses and student drivers. After seeing this happen week after week, I decided to mention my concerns to the general contractor’s superintendent. I asked him if we could have our safety meetings in the designated work area to avoid the buses and student drivers,” the team member said, as conveyed by Safety Manager Stephanie Carkin.

On the Monday that kicked off National Safety Week, the crew member received a text stating, “Safety meeting will be held inside the designated work area.” The guest speaker thanked them for bringing up the idea of relocating the safety meetings to a more appropriate spot.

“I was a little embarrassed at the time, but I knew it was worth it. I would have felt horrible if someone trying to dodge buses and new drivers would have gotten hit,” the team member said. “The lesson I learned from this experience is how important it is for me to stand up and speak out when I see improvements can be made. I learned how others can benefit when I exercise the courage to effectively speak out.”

The craft professional called on others in the industry to be alert and on the lookout for every performance and safety idea they can find.

“When you stand up and speak out you count in your workplace and at home,” the team member said. “The benefit you will gain is a long, upwardly mobile, injury-free career. You will have the purpose-filled feeling of knowing you count.”

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Harder Mechanical Contractors attributes the success of its safety culture to creating safety plans that are user friendly and easy for people to follow. Safety requirements are clearly written in employee job descriptions, which reduces ambivalence and misinterpretation.

One example is its Silica Safety Plan, which helps avert an occupational illness that could be debilitating on projects such as chipping concrete for an extended duration. Employees were trained on OSHA Table 1 that specifies exposure control methods, which empowered them to identify specific work environments, tool use and mitigation methods.

As a result of the silica plan, Harder implemented best practices such as utilizing power air purifying respirators to allow for mobility, which also reduced errors in the facial sealed respirators. It also upgraded its tools to include misting capabilities and installed misting curtains as an additional mitigation method. Another success has been an ergonomic approach to rivet busting in the form of a “pogo stick.” The tool has a hydraulic foot that holds the demo hammer.

Harder’s “Buddy/Mentor” program pairs seasoned professionals with new employees for mentorship and weekly progress evaluations. After 12 weeks of oversight and continued demonstration of competency, the mentees graduate from the program.

The Corporate Safety Committee evaluates the company’s processes each year and seeks employee feedback. Harder creates safety slogans and other messages, employees write commitment letters to their families about why they work safe, and the company posts “Why I Work Safely” banners with photos of employees and their families.

Harder rewards employees for safe practices through its Harder Buck program, which provides a two-point coupon in every employee’s paycheck each week. The coupons share safety messages, and employees are able to redeem them for merchandise ranging from safety glasses and apparel to high-end electronics and sporting goods.

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When Granite Construction Co. was charged with driving 13,500 steel posts into the ground for multiple solar projects, it developed a detailed safety plan and procedures were set in place for unloading trucks, shaking out the posts, inspecting the rigging and equipment, attaching the rigging and employee placement. All 13,500 posts were driven without an injury or any equipment damage.

While working on a Microsoft data center, Granite started to encounter a large amount of as-built temporary and permanent underground utilities. Being on private property limited its ability to have the utilities located and, since many were temporary, their locations were not documented well.

Granite developed a ground disturbance permitting procedure in which, at the start of each shift, project managers and crew members conducted a site walk. They reviewed drawings of the utility locations and, if there was any question regarding existing utilities not installed by Granite, project management contacted the installing contractor for an on-site review. If any digging had to be done within 10 feet of a utility, it was exposed with a vac truck first. Crews also had the authority to stop the work at any time if they felt the situation was unsafe or had questions about the work.

“We try to involve our employees in our culture as much as possible,” Safety Manager Robert Wynegar said. “We give all of our employees stop work authority. Employees are given this authority at new hire orientation and it is a common topic in our weekly safety meetings. When employees use their stop work authority, we reward them with either gift cards or a ‘thank you’ for speaking up to encourage them to continue to speak up when they see something unsafe.”

Granite completed 2018 with a recordable incident rate of .58 and 1,056,112 manhours.

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