Innovative solutions to safety challenges. Injury and illness rates lower than the average for their industries. Comprehensive training programs.
According to EHS Today, America’s safest companies have all of the above and more. Better still, their attention to safety also makes these companies some of the most productive and successful in their fields.
EHS Today, a publication serving safety, health and industrial hygiene professionals, established its America’s Safest Companies awards program in 2002. To date, 238 companies have been recognized with an award.
So, just who are some of these companies and what are they doing about safety? We thought we’d take a quick look at three and share what EHS Today wrote about them in hopes of inspiring others to follow suit.
Bancroft Construction, a management firm with 120 employees based in Delaware.
For starters, Bancroft participates in design reviews during pre-project planning to make sure safety is taken into consideration.
“Contract documents are revised, if necessary, to be consistent with Bancroft’s and the client’s safety policies and practices,” brand manager Laura McLaine told EHS Today. “A Project Execution Plan (PEP) is developed in cooperation with the project team and contains comprehensive safety criteria pertinent to that particular site and project.”
Also, subcontractors are required to be pre-qualified, and must meet specific training and substance abuse requirements.
Just as importantly, during the construction phase of a project, “safety audits are performed by our Safety Management Team on a random and weekly scheduled basis,” McLaine said.
Denark Construction, a Knoxville, Tenn., firm with 50 employees.
Denark’s occupational safety and health program focuses on five key areas: people, planning, communication, analysis and execution.
Every day, Denark’s superintendent identifies any potentially unsafe working conditions and immediately acts on corrective measures.
Also, Denark’s safety manager conducts regular site inspections to ensure that workers are abiding by procedures and that the site is safe.
“By involving everyone early in the safety process, we establish trust,” Grant Rosenberg, vice president of Denark, said. “This trust results in a relationship based on shared expectations that we hold ourselves accountable to. Over time, our consistent application of this relatively simple philosophy has led to a safety-oriented culture.”
Graycor Industrial Constructors, a 1,300-employee company based in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
All Graycor supervisors – from general foreman up to the president – are trained according to a training matrix that includes incident investigation, safety and health programs, inspections and audits, behavior observation techniques and more.
Graycor has a Safety and Health Management System in place, which safety director Randy Hynek says is at the core of the company’s business philosophy.
“It is not an add-on program, but is an integral part of how we do business … designed to engage every employee, from executive management to the newest craft apprentice working on our project sites,” Hynek said.
Along those lines, the company has what it calls its Good Catch program, which is set up to motivate employees to proactively share lessons learned that would prevent an incident from occurring. All Good Catches are recognized and rewarded.
Good stuff, right? You can see why these companies were recognized by EHS Today. To read more about America’s Safest Companies, click here. And, of course, don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you need help establishing or refining your own job-site safety program.
Michael Kline is a Commercial Lines Vice President at CCIG. Reach him at MichaelK@thinkccig.com or 720-212-2042.
CCIG is a Denver-area insurance brokerage with the full-service capabilities of a national brokerage. We do more than make sure you have the right policy. We also help you manage your long-term cost of insurance with our risk and claims management expertise and a commitment to service excellence.
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