Building Trades Safety Committee Impacts the Bottom Line
Safety first. That's what trades people hear on every jobsite, but there is something to be said about the efforts made at the Elm Road Generating Station and what they did for We Energies. In June 2006, Bechtel, the general contractor on the project, was noticing increasingly high-incident (6.95 percent) and lost-time rates (.85 percent), a problem that was unacceptable to them and We Energies. Together the two approached the Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council (MBCTC) to figure out a solution to this alarming problem.
Each separate entity helping to make the project safer had the same purpose: prevent injuries of all kinds. Clearly, this united purpose paid off. By June of 2010, high-incident and lost-time rates decreased 50 percent to 3.21 percent for incident rates and .41 percent for lost time rates.
Back to the Basics
When Bechtel began work in Oak Creek, the company made it clear that the union construction workforce in Wisconsin was one of the hardest working groups it had seen — quite a compliment from the largest general contractor in the world. However, early in the project, it became apparent that the behaviors of the workers onsite need to change — the same behaviors that were contributing to the high-incident and lost-time rates.
When We Energies, Bechtel and the MBCTC Safety Committee discussed the issues, they decided a few things needed to happen to improve safety at the site. They focused their efforts in two ways. First, they would boost their onsite presence to show they were serious about this initiative. Second, they would show the trades people onsite the importance of working together to ensure that each person worked safely.
Safety Mindset
Mark Stone, VP of We Power had successfully worked with the MBCTC Safety Committee on the We Energies project at the Port Washington Generating Station. His background and knowledge were integral to the future success of the Elm Road project.
Over time, the efforts began to work at the Elm Road site, and no one was more pleased than Stone. "I was really impressed with how everyone involved saw the common goal and worked hard at making it happen," he stated. "I realized from my time at the Port Washington Generating Station that we could use the larger projects to change the overall mindset of our workforce. Then, when they left our job, they could take what they learned in terms of safety to every job they worked on from that point forward. We wanted to give them a new safety mindset."
We Energies' partnership with Bechtel and the MBCTC was uncharted water, but so was building two of the largest projects in state history. Stone felt it was their duty to affect change, with tangible and intangible reasons behind their efforts.
"It's no secret that when incidents go down so do insurance rates," said Stone. "However, we see the bigger picture, such as the cost to replace someone who is injured. Bringing in someone who isn't as familiar with the project causes safety, quality and production concerns and increases the bottom line; then there's time spent talking with OSHA and insurance companies that all costs big money.
"Rather than spending the time and money after someone is injured, we have proven it makes more sense — and saves on costs — to put the money into proactive safety training and efforts," he said.
We Energies realized this lesson at the Port Washington project, where the company spent $1.5 million on safety prevention and still saved $1 million. Additionally, from the time the safety committee began on the second unit at Port Washington to its completion, they realized a $1 million decrease of workers compensation premiums and claims from the first unit. These numbers are staggering and clearly demonstrate how implementing a "safety mindset" helps reduce injuries and lost time while enhancing the bottom line.
Earning Trust and Seeing Results
But meetings and money aren't the only solutions to safety issues. We Energies and the MBCTC Safety Committee knew that developing trust with the jobsite workers was a key element of their new mindset. That's why the monthly walk-throughs became such an important part of the project. The walk-throughs helped foster trust with the workers so they could fully buy into the safety initiative.
At first, the MBCTC Safety Committee could sense the workers' hesitation during the walk-throughs. It's not every day that an effort involving the customer, the contractor and the business representatives of nearly every trade takes place. However, the workers began to see an increase in communication about safety and realized it wasn't just talk.
"You really see a difference in their attitudes and behaviors when you start pointing out unsafe work habits right away," said Dan Slane, Business Representative for the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters. "Addressing problems immediately and communicating them directly made all the difference."
The walk-throughs forced many trades people to rethink how they approached safety. Rather than worrying about calling out a co-worker for unsafe behaviors, they were encouraged by the committee to see it as potentially saving a friend from injury or even death.
After each walk-through, the MBCTC Safety Committee met with Bechtel's and We Energies' leadership to review the observed behaviors, how they addressed the problem, and how they could prevent the issues from happening again. During these discussions, they were able to identify trends and common mistakes to efficiently develop protocols to address the problems.
Dick Dowdell, Site Manager for We Power was instrumental in ensuring all safety issues were being addressed. He took part in every walk-through to bring the customer's safety perspective to the workers on his site.
"Dick really demonstrated his commitment to our labor force," said Slane. "He truly cared about every man and woman working on his site."
Slane worked hand in hand with every entity involved in the safety program and gives a lot of the credit for its success to Tom Kavicky, Safety Director for the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters.
"Tom's the only full-time union safety director in the Brotherhood, and his knowledge and expertise really helped shape how we affected change at the Elm Road Generating Station," said Slane.
Ultimately, what began as a real concern, turned into real discussions, and ended in real results. Lyle Balistreri, President of the MBCTC couldn't be more pleased with the efforts and outcomes. "To have this type of effect on a job this size is incredible," said Balistreri. "I can't say enough about the partnership we've had with We Energies, Bechtel and the workers. It's because of everyone's hard work and determination that we were able to see such great results."
Taking it One Step Further
Now that the Elm Road Generating Station is nearly complete, the team is looking ahead to the next phase of safety policy. It is investigating how they can take the lessons from this project and apply them to other customers, contractors and workers. To foster safety at more jobsites, Bechtel has enlisted the MBCTC Safety Committee to help the firm partner with other Councils nationwide to bring these lessons to hundreds, even thousands, more workers and projects.
Additionally, We Energies has requested the MBCTC committee do regular safety audits at the Pleasant Prairie, Valley and Elm Road plants.
"The safety training and support that we see from the unions gives them a competitive advantage over a non-union workforce on our projects," remarked Stone. "As an owner, the union training gives us an element of comfort in knowing the work will be done safely."
While the combined efforts of We Energies, Bechtel and the MBCTC Safety Committee were instrumental in this project, this success would not have been possible without the buy-in and hard work of the trades people. Without the worker — one of the most important components of any project — a safer worksite and strong safety mindset wouldn't have been realized.
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