July 2010: Feature Story

NUCA 2009 - William H. Feather Safety Awards
Recognizing a Commitment to Safety within the Utility Contracting Industry
By Jason Morgan

The landscape of the construction industry is changing — costs are rising, competition for projects is increasing and jobs are scarce. In these uncertain times, it’s nice to remember that there’s a constant. The one thing that will never change in the construction industry is that safety is king. Regardless of the type, size or duration of project, safety is on the top of everyone’s list. Though industry changes are pushing up the price of competition, it’s important to take a step back to remember that we’re all striving to be productive and go home unharmed at the end of the day.

To recognize the companies that strive for safety and the general well-being of their employees, the National Utility Contractor Association (NUCA) awards six companies with the William H. Feather Safety Award. Who is William H. Feather you ask? He was the very first chairman of the Safety Committee and widely regarded as the backbone of NUCA’s early safety initiatives. He was honored for his many contributions to the association in 1976 when he was named Ditchdigger of the Year, but his premature passing led NUCA to search for some additional way to commemorate his passion for safety. At NUCA’s 1978 convention in New Orleans, a new award was created to recognize those contractors that exemplify Mr. Feather’s commitment to a safe workplace.

The awards are given to companies based on incidence rate (OSHA 300 log), company safety statement and company safety program information. Participation in NUCA safety programs and activities is also taken into consideration. The 2009 William H. Feather Safety awards were given out at the NUCA Washington Summit this past May. And the winners are…

0 — 100,000 Man-hours
Petticoat-Schmitt Civil Contractors Inc.
Jacksonville, Fla.

The winner of the 0 — 100,000 man-hours category was Petticoat-Schmitt Civil Contractors of Jacksonville, Fla. Jeff Blomgren accepted the award.

Petticoat-Schmitt Civil Contractors Inc. was founded as a Florida Corporation in October, 2007, and is the combination of an acquisition of a well-established local contracting firm, Petticoat Contracting Inc., and the entrepreneurial ventures of an experienced leader in the local underground utility industry, Ryan Schmitt.

Petticoat-Schmitt consists of 32 employees, many of whom came from Petticoat Contracting as well as other companies. Due to the mixed bag of employee origins, it was imperative that Petticoat-Schmitt quickly establish its own corporate culture of safety. Through formal training and informal interaction between Owner, Ryan Schmitt, and Safety Director, Jeff Blomgren, it was ingrained into all employees that safety is a priority at Petticoat-Schmitt.

Petticoat-Schmitt’s five keys to safety success are training, empowerment, top level management support, making cultural development part of the safety process and employee accountability.

All Petticoat-Schmitt employees are trained from the hire date with an in-depth orientation program, covering most of the aspects of the type of work the company does. Petticoat-Schmitt uses handouts, videos and Power Point programs that are taken from real life situations from the company’s past jobs to illustrate the lessons and make the training more personal.

“Our goal is to have every employee involved with a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the company,” says Schmitt. “Everyone must understand what their role is in the overall function of the company and the service we provide through our finished product.”

One of Petticoat-Schmitt’s objectives is to get its employees to understand that ultimately they are responsible for their own safety and the safety of those around them. Too often employees are given the impression, through their own life experiences, that they aren’t responsible for very much. Petticoat-Schmitt tries to instill that if they want to succeed, they must develop a sense of teamwork and responsibility in all its employees.

The company has used NUCA as a valuable resource for its training and education program. More than four years ago, Petticoat-Schmitt was instrumental in developing the Safety Director’s Forum for its local chapter, the Utility Contractors Association of North Florida, and it has also been active in supporting the safety process for its industry. Blomgren is a member of the NUCA Safety Director’s Network and has participated in the both NUCA Safety Directors Forum and the NUCA Competent Person training programs. The company has also participated in The Safety Ambassador’s Club and is active in supporting the NUCA educational initiatives.

“In addition, we use the NUCA resources available to us through the NUCA Web site like the Excavation Safety Orientation Program and the Seeing Believes video on underground locates,” Schmitt says. “George Kennedy has been very accessible as NUCA’s in-house expert and has given us some very valuable technical and expert assistance in dealing with issues where we may have questions on policies and procedures or OSHA regulations. We are very comfortable with our professional relationship with NUCA and believe in being an active participant and contributor to the organization.”

100,001 — 300,000 Man-hours
DOLI Construction Corp.
Chalfont, Pa.

The winner of the 100,001 — 300,000 man-hours category was DOLI Construction Corp. of Chalfont, Pa. Keith Hass accepted the award.

DOLI Construction Corp. was incorporated in 1989 and has been involved for the past 21 years in the construction of sanitary sewers and water systems in the Southeastern Pennsylvania area. DOLI currently runs a crew of 50 employees and continuing the company’s heritage, Robert J. Pollio and James T. Dacey, the original founders and corporate officers, each presently holding a 50 percent share in the company.

The standout project for DOLI was the successful installation of 17 Stormceptor treatment units in Shamokin, Pa., while encountering difficult excavating conditions. The units were 10 ft wide averaging 22 ft deep. In addition, DOLI successfully completed all its projects this past year without any significant accidents or injuries, reports Keith Hass, DOLI Construction’s Construction Manager and Safety Director. Hass gives much of the company’s safety track record credit to NUCA.

“NUCA has helped shape our safety program,” says Hass. “It provides useful safety information that we use for our toolbox meetings and safety manuals. A few years ago, I was hired on as safety director and attended the NUCA Safety Directors Forum. NUCA reinforced to me the dangers of our industry and the protections that are needed on a daily basis.”

An effective safety program utilizes many tools from the toolbox. DOLI relies on its employees to use these tools to make smart safety decisions.

DOLI Construction employees also attend NUCA training. Several employees completed the NUCA Excavation Safety and Training Program in 2008 (hosted by PUCA). In addition, DOLI foremen and superintendents in years past have attended the NUCA Exposition. One of the Expo’s safety seminars provided an OSHA inspection scenario that sparked thought provoking debate among DOLI employees.

DOLI’s five major keys to jobsite safety are:

• Stay alert at all times — accidents happen when your guard is dropped.
  
• Wearing proper personal protective equipment helps prevent injuries.
  
• Keep up with training and reinforcement of safe construction practices.
  
• Designate a Competent Person to supervise the construction.
  
• Communication among the employees on a jobsite will help prevent accidents.

300,001 – 500,000 Man-hours
Foremost Pipeline Construction Co. Inc.
Gaston, S.C.

The winner of the 300,001 — 500,000 man-hours category was Foremost Pipeline Construction Co. Inc. of Gaston, S.C. The award was accepted by Tim Haechten, Foremost Division General Manager.

Foremost was started in 1965 with just a few employees and has grown steadily to about 145 full-time employees. Being a utility contractor exposes its employees to many hazards and opportunities for accidents. In recent years, the most challenging hurdle has been getting employees to buy into a culture of safety by watching out for each other’s safety and to be aware of the lack of experience of its new hires.

One major key to Foremost’s success is having a majority of full-time employees. It gives the company the advantage of being able to continually safety train, reward safe behavior and manage near misses. On larger projects where the company hires seasonal workers, it performs well in safety thanks to its management team keeping the safety message as priority one in their daily interactions with the workforce.

“Complacency is our biggest enemy in fighting accidents,” says Tim Haechten, Manager of Operations for Foremost Pipeline Construction Co. “Doing the same thing every day without an accident leads to a false sense of security. Focusing on near miss reporting and following up can be the biggest tool in our toolbox of training.”

Kenneth Blewer, Foreman Charleston, South Carolina District, inspects yellow plastic 6-in. natural gas line as it is being prepared for Electro Fusion with another line.

The five major safety points Foremost employs are:

• The management team has to buy into the safety culture from top to bottom.
  
• The foreman has to start each day or project with some sort of hazard or job assessment and encourage participation from each team member in the daily safety meetings.
  
• Each team member must be endowed with the knowledge that he can stop a job that has any safety risk until the hazard is mitigated.
  
• Each team member must be trained in proper procedures to recognize and mitigate any hazard that could be encountered on the jobsite.
  
• At the end of the day, if each team member looks out for his safety and the safety of each team member, then we will all have a safe day.

500,000-1,000,000 Man-Hours
Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. Inc.
Atlasburgh, Pa.

The winner of the 500,001 — 1,000,000 man-hours category was Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. of Atlasburg, Pa. Alex Paris (right) and Bill Santa (left) accepted the award.

At Alex E. Paris Contracting, its health and safety policy influences all work activities, from the selection of people, equipment and materials to the way work is done. The company continues to improve in the area of safety with the belief that safety and accident prevention are to be managed like any other function of the organization, according to Bill Santa, Safety Coordinator.

Founded in 1928, Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. is a full service heavy construction firm with an equipment division and an industrial service division. The company provides almost any type of construction or industrial service needed and employs more than 200 people. Today, the company’s safety program represents a continuum of loss control measures ranging from pre-planning/site determination to implementation, follow-up and improvement activities. 

According to Santa, the element with the most significant impact to the success of the company’s safety program has been its team approach. All employees receive regular training to support the safety program and are encouraged to participate in safety and loss prevention efforts, in order to take full advantage of their knowledge of how improvements can be made. 

In addition to maintaining an active safety committee that represents all operational functions, Alex E. Paris Contracting also relies on active measurements of its safety performance to determine if the program is successful.

At Alex E. Paris Contracting, priority is given where risks are greatest. Management looks closely at serious events and those with potential for serious harm. The utility construction industry has in the past relied on a reactive approach, says Santa, but for the industry to excel, proactive measures need to be monitored before things go wrong.

“Most traditional safety programs have operated on the belief that hindsight is 20/20 and investigate after things go wrong. Our company has moved beyond the reactionary mode and for the industry to progress, a similar approach is essential,” he adds. “You need to ensure that information from proactive and reactive monitoring is used to identify situations that create risks and do something about them.”

1,000,000-Plus man-Hours
Western Summit Constructors Inc.
Denver

The winner of the 1 million-plus man-hours category was Western Summit Constructors Inc. of Denver.

Western Summit Constructors Inc. has established a reputation as a leader in the water and wastewater industries built on performing excellent work for more than 25 years. A critical part of its success has been an established safety and health policy. The company’s focus on safety earned it the overall Feather Award winner for both 2001 and 2005, and its continued progress is recognized once again this year.

Western Summit’s policy is based on a desire to eliminate occupational injuries and illnesses, eliminate damage to equipment and property and protect the general public whenever and wherever the public comes in contact with or is affected by the company’s work.

Western Summit has increased training efforts on job safety assessment and hazard assessment, involving more and more members of its crew. In addition, the company’s large number of Spanish-speaking workers has also been addressed, thanks to its bilingual safety training. Safety meetings are conducted for the entire jobsite every week, in addition to daily toolbox talks in which crews prepare their job safety assessment (JSA) for that day.

While the ultimate success of a safety and health program depends upon the full cooperation of each individual employee, it is management’s responsibility to see that safety and health rules and procedures are adequate and enforced and to see that effective training and educational programs are employed to the greatest advantage. Western Summit believes safety should not be sacrificed for production, but rather considered an integral part of quality control, cost reduction and job efficiency.
A good safety record reflects the quality of management, supervision and workforce. It also serves to promote business and thereby contributes to the continuing growth and success of the company.

Overall
DeKalb Pipeline Co.
Conyers, Ga.

The Overall William H. Feather Safety Award for 2008 was Dekalb Pipeline Co. of Conyers, Ga. President James King accepted the award.

“Keep it simple,” was the beginning philosophy of DeKalb Pipeline when it was started in 1960 by James King Sr. Back then, safety wasn’t the first thing that people thought of while on the job. The major concern was to get the job done. So when James King Jr. took over as president, he knew something had to change.

King began introducing new rules and procedures gradually, so the employees had the understanding of what they were doing and why. The “why” aspect was the most important thing you could show them, King says. Over the years, DeKalb changed its training programs and increased safety meetings to punctuate the importance of safety on the jobsite. Much of the success of DeKalb’s safety program is safety awareness — recognizing jobsite hazards before they become or lead to injuries.

At DeKalb, the company makes sure that its employees continually look out for themselves and others to keep its jobsites safe.

Once the seed of safety has been planted in the mind of workers, the feeling of completing a day’s work without any injuries is the greatest motivator at DeKalb. Twice a year, DeKalb has a luncheon where the company takes time to reflect on the past months and talk about how safe the jobsites have been and how safe they will be.
NUCA provided a wealth of training and the ability to network with other contractors within safety forums. DeKalb’s success is thanks in large part to its safety-minded employees. Despite its immaculate record, DeKalb knows that it can’t rest on its laurels.

“Always pay attention to your surroundings. If you are in doubt, stop and ask. If something is wrong, make sure to take the time to fix whatever it is creating the unsafe environment,” King recommends.
To keep safety in the forefront of its employees’ minds, DeKalb Pipeline works off five major safety points.

• Its employees understand the importance of a safe place to work.
  
• Recognizing jobsite hazards is important to stopping injuries before they happen.
  
• Spend time and money to properly educate.
  
• Management must understand that safety is not cheap to implement on the front end, but pays off later.
  
• It’s important to have good resources for the most up-to-date safety info and being a part of NUCA and GUCA is a great wealth of information.