When it comes to safety in the workplace, companies are constantly seeking new ways to maintain a low-risk environment for their workers. Positive outcomes of a safe work environment include not only financial benefits -- such as keeping insurance rates low -- but also keeping employees happy and healthy.
Marquis Industrial Services LLC has taken preemptive measures to ensure its safety record is the best in the industry. With the help of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Marquis continues to showcase its safety record through ABC's Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) program.
Since its establishment in 1950, ABC has firmly believed that in order for a worldclass safety program to succeed, it must have three main components: a commitment from company leadership to embrace safety as the core value upon which their decisions are made, a top-to-bottom safety culture that will empower all employees to create the safest work environment possible, and systems and processes that focus on preventing any hazards or incidents from occurring.
These components have set the foundation of ABC's focus for the STEP program. Founded in 1989, the program's mission is to help companies assess and improve their safety programs. STEP gives commercial and industrial contractors a system to showcase their companies' safety programs by completing a detailed questionnaire concerning safety records as well as passing 20 key components and other requirements.
Completing different requirements allows a company's safety status to be placed at differing levels, ranging from Participant, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum to Diamond, the highest STEP level a participating company can be awarded.
In order to obtain Diamond status, a company must have a total recordable incident rate 50-percent below the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, maintain an EMR rate of 0.7, have received OSHA Form 300 and 300 A within the previous three years, have no recorded fatalities that were a result of any OSHA citations within the previous three years, meet the minimum score needed to pass the 20 key components and pay the correct entry fee. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and industry average, companies that have received the STEP Diamond award are 670-percent safer than the industry average.
Marquis first obtained the STEP Diamond award in 2015 and has maintained this achievement over the past three years. Marquis' safety culture is based on the idea that OSHA standards are the bare minimum for any workforce to comply with. While they might be good for some companies, for Marquis, OSHA standards are only a template for what safety measures and precautions can achieve. During every project, Marquis continues to strive to improve and exceed OSHA guidelines.
Since 2015, Marquis has continued its path toward safety excellence by receiving the STEP Diamond award every year.
As a provider of insulation, scaffolding, coatings, general maintenance and other great services for the refining and petrochemical, power, exploration, and pipelines and terminals industries, Marquis' leadership knows that the greatest priority is safety -- not just for their own employees and property/equipment but for those they work for as well.
Whenever Marquis accepts a new project, its No. 1 safety goal is to protect property and persons. By having zero recordable injuries for employees and damaged property, Marquis can assure companies that when its people are on site, everyone is in good hands. The achievements gained from the STEP program have only inspired Marquis to provide better, safer service each and every time. Marquis is only getting started.
For more information, visit www.marquisindservices.com or call (979) 265-4480.
