The Iron Workers (IW) and its employer- ironworker partnership, IMPACT, have teamed up with the Southwest region's contractors to reduce incidents, inefficiencies and liabilities on the jobsite. IMPACT launched a voluntary safety assessment program as a partnership benefit for contractors in the region, including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kansas and Missouri. Contractors are finding the program instrumental to avoiding liabilities and ensuring a safe workplace. IMPACT has retained HazTek Safety Management, a renowned national safety and health management company, to evaluate contractors' safety infrastructure and policies to identify gaps.
HazTek experts specialize in comprehensive safety assessments and work with contractors to identify hazards and discrepancies. Bennett Steel is a poster child for the program's value. The company saved 20 percent in insurance costs when the assessment program uncovered a liability that would have otherwise gone undetected.
While Bennett Steel's professional vehicle operators, including crane operators and truck drivers, had commercial driver's licenses with motor vehicle checks, other personnel -- including the owners of the company who occasionally drove the vehicles -- did not. The assessment recommended all drivers be qualified through the same process as the professionals.
"We thought we had all of our bases covered and we had one of the best safety and health programs in the region until HazTek showed us a potential liability that was not so obvious," said Bennett Steel President David Bennett. "It's important to have a third party with a fresh perspective examine your safety operations. You never know what you might have missed." The assessment resulted in major cost savings in automobile insurance renewal costs. Another recommendation led to enhanced productivity. The IMPACT safety assessment program grants contractors access to expert safety and health professional consultants with over 20 years of experience in construction safety and health.
The program evaluates contractors' compliance with federal, state and local regulatory requirements, corporate safety and health policy, and site-specific safety plans. Both administrative and field compliance issues are assessed to ensure there is no room for errors. The safety assessment typically lasts 2-3 days, but contractors may add more days to fit their individual needs. It begins with a conference where project leadership learns about the process and ends with a conference to discuss findings and recommendations. A comprehensive report detailing how the contractor fares compared to competitors in safety and health is presented to leadership within five business days.
A third-party expert safety assessment is essential for contractor survival and employee safety. "In my 47-year career as a safety and health professional, I have seen that contractors who willingly participate and put the safety of their workers on the same plain as production always know it's important for the bottom line," said Herb Strong, an expert from HazTek. "More importantly, you can't put a price on the peace of mind they get from this."
IMPACT and its partner contractors are leading the industry in safety and productivity with innovative initiatives such as the Southwest region's safety assessment program.
For more information, visit www. impact-net.org.
