Safety Culture Value Equals Strength

Every construction organization has a safety culture. If that culture can be defined as one in which the people of the organization genuinely apply safety practices daily as a matter of instinct rather than another item on the “to-do” list, then the culture is most likely a top value and strength of the organization. If the culture is something less than this, then the goal should be to change it to get it there. How do you justify the significant investment of capital and human resources required to develop and maintain a strong safety culture? Consider the positive impact for the organization including a healthy and productive workforce, relatively lower insurance premiums, the ability to be more competitive, and winning more work just to name a few. By far, however, the most important result is simply the fact that far fewer people receive workplace related injuries. This is due to the principles of “people-based safety” at work, where the attitude and conviction of every individual is to not only keep themselves safe but also to look out for their co-workers. People-based safety is having a positive impact on reducing injuries throughout the construction industry and is one reason why a goal of Zero injuries is a possibility. It is encouraging that many organizations have adopted a goal of zero incidents, and are committed to achieving it, despite competing factors such as economic pressure and other company objectives that tap the same resources that are needed to keep safety a top value.

As part of ICI’s ongoing safety investment and commitment to keep safety a top value, over 250 supervisors were recently trained on the latest principles of people-based safety. One of these principles includes recognizing people for doing the right thing and going out of their way to help others. In keeping with this thought, I would like to personally recognize and thank the men and women of Industrial Contractors, American Electric Power and the Construction Building Trades who worked successfully together to recently achieve over 700,000 safe work hours. This accomplishment earned 3 certificates of merit and a bronze star zero-injury-safety-award from the National Maintenance Agreement Policy Committee during a ceremony in Washington DC on October 29, 2009.

Innovation & Technology

Continuous improvement in all aspects of our operations is an ongoing goal that requires an innovative mindset.  Through the creative thinking and teamwork of our employees we are finding new and better ways to deliver services to our customers with an emphasis on improving workplace safety, overall quality and efficiency.  One strategy for such improvement is leveraging the use of existing and/or emerging technology.  On the safety front, ICI Construction Supervisors and Safety Resources have recently recorded over 1 million safety observations utilizing handheld computers loaded with our customized SafetyNet software system.  Another application of technology driven innovation is through our recent investment in Building Information Modeling (BIM) 3D fabrication and coordination drawing software automated with our fabrication equipment.  This software will ultimately improve efficiency and streamline the design > detail > fabricate > install workflow for ductwork and piping systems while improving overall delivered quality.  A third example is the ongoing research and development of materials, equipment and processes to automate welding techniques for applications that are prohibitive for manual welding, particularly in the power industry.  These and other ICI innovation initiatives are a direct result of our employees engaging technology to solve problems and are part of the strategy to facilitate us in our mission of helping our customers achieve success.

Building Success

At Industrial Contractors we take pride in our long history of vision and progress. It has often been quoted around our office, “When Charles Braun, Sr. started Industrial Contractors, he set out to build a construction company committed to the highest levels of quality, integrity, safety and customer value. He understood that the key to building this sort of company was attracting the best people in all crafts and at all levels of the organization.” A lot of things have changed over the past 45 years since Mr. Braun started the company but the vision remains the same.

On September 1^st we rolled out a new 5 year strategic plan that will govern our business through the 50^th anniversary in 2014. The cornerstone of that plan is our unchanging values of integrity and respect for employees and customers and our commitment to safe, quality construction delivered on time for a fair price – that’s how we build. Also, on September 1^st, I had the privilege of becoming the 4^th President of Industrial Contractors after most recently spending the past 4 years as VP of our Power Division, and I will be working closely with Alan Braun who will maintain an active role as CEO. I am looking forward to working closely with our talented team of employees and valued customers and partners to continue the tradition of success at Industrial Contractors.