Safety
From
the beginning, SK Construction Company has recognized the importance of
safety. Since the mid 1950's, we have required our employees to wear hard
hats and to use trench shields for utility work. That was rare in those
days. SK is serious about safety. This history is documented in our long
list of credit ratings from the Ohio Bureau of Workman's Compensation (BWC).
During the early to mid 1980's, a time of major growth, we unfortunately experienced a series of injuries. Those changed us from a credit rated to a penalty rated company with the BWC. SK's management used that experience as the instrument to re-visit and restructure a more comprehensive safety program.
The first task was to appoint a full-time Safety Manager. Second, we enlisted the help of the Ohio BWC. Next, we created a safety committee made up of top management, department heads, superintendents, and crafts people. The mission of this committee was to develop a proactive safety program for the modern construction world. The results of which, we are proud to say, is a safety program that is second-to-none. Some of the highlights of this program are:
- All SK job superintendents have a minimum of 30 hours OSHA training.
- All employees are required to complete a STP (Safety Training Passport) program or a 10-hour OSHA equivalent.
- Our safety committee meets monthly to recommend future training requirements, awards, recognition, and to plan topics of discussion for the foreman's meeting.
- Formen meet monthly to discuss recent changes in safety and to incorporate them into our program.
- All new jobs are required to have a Job Site Safety Analysis completed before starting, and, at a minimum, a weekly safety meeting
Our Safety Manual is utilized daily. It does not gather dust on the shelves, nor is it a paper tiger. The proof is in our track record:
- 1997 - AK Steel awarded SK Construction for working injury-free.
- 1998 - Ohio Contractors Association awarded SK Construction for the best safety record for a construction company with 100,000-500,000 man-hours.
- 1998 - Ohio Contractors Association awarded SK Construction for no lost time injuries with 475,726 man-hours worked.
- 1998 - Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation awarded SK Construction the 100% (No lost time injuries) award.
- 1999 - Ohio Contractors Association awarded SK Construction for the best safety record for construction companies with over 500,000 man-hours.
- 1999 - Ohio Contractors Association awarded SK Construction for no lost time injuries with 531,816 man-hours worked.
- 1999 - Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation awarded SK Construction the 100% award.
- 1999 - AK Steel awarded SK Construction for working injury-free.
- 2000 - Ohio Contractors Association awarded SK Construction for the best safety record for a construction company with over 500,000 man-hours worked.
- 2002 Ohio Bureau of Workers Comepnsation Group Award
- 2002 Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Achievement Award
- 2003 Ohio Contractor Association Division 2 Safety Award
- 2003 Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation No Lost Time Injury Award 500,000 man hours
- 2004 Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Achievement Award
- 2005 Ohio Contractor Association Division 2 Safety Award. Special recognition for no lost time injury and no OSHA recordable injury.
- 2005 Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation No Lost Time Injury
- 2005 Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Achievement Award
Those are just some of our awards. It should be noted that with our back-to-back no lost time injury years, that we worked over one million man hours without a lost time injury. In the year 2000 we did unfortunately have a lost time injury, knocking us out of our third consecutive injury-free year. This injury happened in mid November at which time we were over one million five hundred thousand man-hours worked without a lost time injury.
In conclusion, there are no conclusions when it comes to safety. We continually update and improve our safety program. Currently our Ohio BWC Experience Modification rate is .34. That represents a 66% credit rating and we look forward to improving upon that. We learned a lesson in the 1980's. You cannot rest on your past accomplishments. Safety is an environment of constant change. We are committed to remain one of the safest.