AGC of Indiana Safety Spotlight

The AGC of Indiana Safety Spotlight is delivered to AGCI members once a month highlighting safety information to share with your team.

Rose Recognition of Safety Excellence: AECOM Hunt

Congratulations to AECOM Hunt, our AGCI November 2018 Safety ROSE Recognition recipient. Learn more below about how their safety culture is centered around the value of their people and their ability to impact a project.

Managing Competing Challenges

The building of facilities and structures is accomplished using a business and operations process that is completely dependent upon the collective physical efforts of people. Equipment, technology and applied process are important, but is the direct involvement of people that produce the outcomes needed by our society.

This complex interaction of people and tasks provides the basis for some of the most challenging management efforts in terms of coordination and cooperation. The building process is a continuous dynamic of competing needs of manpower, material resources, time allotment and the simple availability of space within which to work. These management challenges are constant for every construction project whether big or small. It is just a matter of scale.

An Immediate Need Requiring Solution

The requirement for timely completion is to maintain a singular focus on the immediate task at hand and work to completion. However, there are times when "relationship and person to person caring captures the priority of the collective efforts of the work group." This was the case at the New Orleans Louisiana Airport Project.

A problem caused a very immediate need. The water main serving the airport failed because of freezing temperatures leaving the parish and the entire airport and all terminals without water. This affected the bathrooms.

The New Orleans Airport services over 33,000 travelers per day coming and going from over 150 daily flights. Given this number of people, the condition of non-flushing bathroom facilities presented a significant problem for the airport.

People Truly Make The Difference

The Mayor of New Orleans has maintained a relationship with the airport project construction staff and contacted the project site to ask if a solution could be offered. The project manager responded by dispatching two large water trucks to the Airport along with a number of portable toilets. In order to bring water to the various points of use, a "bucket brigade" was formed to pass buckets of water hand-to-hand, person-to-person to the various facilities in the airport. This very human effort prevented the Airport from having to cease operations for the day while the water supply piping was repaired.

Our Industry Continuously Serves Others

This adversity demonstrated how people can respond to people and is a meaningful example of how construction serve others, in the buildings they build and in their overall willingness to respond to important human needs.

What is the AGCI Rose Recognition Program?

The AGCI ROSE (Recognition of Safety Excellence) Program recognizes the critical impact individual safety decisions make on a team. AGCI Members are encouraged to nominate a safety moment, initiative or program focused on strong safety principles. Outstanding applicants will receive recognition throughout AGCI communications, as well as at events throughout the year. Learn more about the program.

Learn Before The Burn

A Note From Mark Williams, Safety Resources, Inc.

Is your workplace or home fire proof? . According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016, there were 88 occupational fatalities as a result of workplace fires or explosions. This is down from 2015, which there were 121. While the statistics show that the number of fatalities due to fires or explosions in the workplace are on a downward slope, any number other than 0 is unacceptable and demands the attention from management, safety professionals, and employees in every company. Not only do fires present a severe life safety hazard, they also can be detrimental to business success due to the possible destruction of business equipment and facilities. This article serves as a reminder to us all of the importance of fire safety awareness in both the workplace and our home lives.

Fire safety awareness in the workplace should be second nature and should be translated into our personal lives to keep our loved ones safe in the event of a fire as well. Take time to have a fire safety talk with your department at work. Review your emergency action plan, communicate supervisory roles, and walk evacuation routes with your team. In times of crisis, it is of human nature to rely on memory created through practice. Now is the perfect time to conduct a fire drill before a real-life event occurs. Ensure nobody is left behind and all are in tune with their life safety route!

The safety reminders communicated in the work place can be easily translated to fire safety in the home. Establish a family emergency action plan, discuss escape routes with family members, and locate fire extinguishers in your home. Additionally, conduct a mock fire drill with your family members to ensure you and your loved ones know how to get out safely. During this drill, outline meeting places that are at a safe distance from the home. Designate a neighbor to contact for help in the event of an emergency. Simple exercises such as the aforementioned could mean the difference maker in your family making it out alive in the event of a fire in your home.

Below are key components to ensuring your workplace and home are fireproof:

1. Eliminate Clutter – Exercise good housekeeping. Clutter of can easily become a fuel source in the event of a fire, allowing a fire to spread quickly. Furthermore, clutter can restrict access to emergency equipment and exit routes.

2. Designate Smoking Areas – Permit smoking only in designated smoking areas and provides means for extinguishing smoking materials safely.

3. Fire Extinguishers – Maintain the appropriate type and number of fire extinguishers. Conduct monthly and annual extinguisher inspections to ensure they are in good, working condition. Provide training for employees on the correct use of fire extinguishers.

4. Chemical Safety – Use and store chemicals safely. Read hazard warning labels and safety data sheets to determine flammability and other fire hazards. Ensure your chemical storage areas provide adequate ventilation for the storage of chemical or other hazardous substances.

5. Waste Control & Storage – Limit the accumulation of flammable or combustible materials and residues as to prevent the risk for such materials contributing to a fire emergency.

6. Exits – Ensure emergency exit route diagrams are posted and accessible in all areas of the facility for all employees to easily view. Additionally, ensure means of egress are well-lit with regulated exit signs and free from debris or clutter.

7. Contact Information – Employees should have access to a list of emergency contact phone numbers in case of emergency. Remember that human nature is to panic in emergency situations; therefore, basics such as the company address, important phone numbers, and building floor plan should be posted on or with the emergency action plan.

Remember it is always better to be Proactive rather than Reactive and it is best to alleviate hazards or hiccups in times of peace than times of chaos. Utilize the above tips to reduce the risk for catastrophe or at least minimize the damage. The reality is that fire emergencies and disaster situations can strike anyone, anytime, anywhere. So, remember, if a fire occurs in your workplace or home, don’t panic, A-C-T .

A – Assess the situation

C - Choose the best action

T – Take action

Next AGC of Indiana Safety Task Force Meeting

The next AGC of Indiana Safety Task Force meeting will be held on November 28th at 11:30 am at George's Neighborhood Grill. All AGC of Indiana members are welcome to send a safety professional to participate in the task force. The AGC of Indiana Safety Task Force is responsible for the development of the AGCI Safety Programming. Join us to provide your input! If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Wendy Marks.

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