Regardless of what type of construction site you visit or what the project entails, there are always potential hazards to be found. Construction workers understand that it is part of the job; however, even a minor accident can result in extensive injury to workers or damage to property.
Luckily, when business owners, on-site superintendents and construction crew members work together to make safety a priority, we can minimize the risks associated with building projects. As a construction company, Bobbitt always puts safety first and continually strives for an incident-free workplace for our employees and business partners. Ron McKenzie, Bobbitt’s Safety Director, explains some of the ways we make safety one of our most important considerations.
Bobbitt’s safety program
Our award-winning safety program is built on the belief that working incident-free is a choice and a right for all our workers. We partner with the National Safety Council and are members of the ABC Safety Council of North Carolina. Our experience in job site safety shows in our quality of work incident rates and experience modification ratios, which are among the best in the country.
Safety is not a separate core value at Bobbitt – it is a part of every core value we have. The leaders in our industry will be those who succeed in transforming the idea of “incident-free” into more than just a slogan, but rather a way of doing business every day.
Customer oriented
Partnering on safety and efficiency with our customers and all stakeholders is one of Bobbitt’s core values. We recognize that proper safety planning leads to a more efficient workplace and contributes positively to schedule, cost and production. Through each stakeholder’s commitment to being injury-free, safety becomes a catalyst that drives a more detailed planning process.
We look ahead to provide the customer, the worker and the community with a final product that provides a safe and secure workplace for everyone involved. Our goal is to exceed the needs of our partners and not just look at safety during construction, but long after we finish.
Prevention through design
Prevention through design is the idea of applying methods early in the design process to minimize occupational dangers. This approach emphasizes addressing hazards at the top of the hierarchy of controls (mainly through elimination and substitution) at the beginning stages of project development. By looking at all possible safety issues before the drawings are even complete, we can assure that no one gets injured and everyone returns home to their family at the end of the workday. We developed this program for injury prevention to involve management, supervisors, employees and our clients in identifying and eliminating hazards that may develop during our work process before that process even begins.
No exceptions
While detailed planning and access to the right tools can go a long way toward minimizing the risk of an incident, enacting and enforcing these safety policies and protocols are also be of tremendous importance. It is Bobbitt’s basic safety policy that no task is so important that an employee must break a safety rule or take the risk of injury or illness to get the job done. Requiring safety compliance for all workers on the job is non-negotiable. Furthermore, employing subcontractors does not absolve the superintendent of their safety obligations, and all workers must be educated and instructed on the proper safety practices.
Continued success
Bobbitt strives to provide a safe workplace for all employees, subcontractors, visitors, owners and the community at large. Benchmarking, measurement processes, community involvement and recognition programs are significant aspects of ensuring that the vision is sustained.
Through detailed strategic planning and our continuous efforts to never be satisfied with meeting the minimum, Bobbitt remains an industry leader when it comes to safety and the quality of our work.
