Overview

Safety & Health

This is the safety and health section of the AGC Nebraska Building Chapter website. The Chapter represents 140-plus firms made up of quality people, delivering quality projects every day. Our members are skilled industry leaders who uphold the highest level of quality and safety standards! Not a member? Find out how to join.

The Board of Directors established a Safety Initiative as a priority for member benefits and services; established a Safety Management Team to develop and implement it; and established this designated website section for Safety.

Safety Management Team Members

2023 NASA Recipients

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Doug Fletcher, host of ‘What’s the Hazard,’ is joined by Matt Thurlby (OSHA Area Director), Casey Lenners (Sampson Construction), Alex Rourke (White Castle Roofing), & Ezra Schlecht (Marsh McClennan Agency) for this special live edition of What's the Hazard, recorded at Round the Bend Steakhouse. From roofing to general contracting, this episode covers the strategies and tools used to mitigate heat risks, while also exploring the potential impact of upcoming OSHA standards. Listen in as the panel shares their experiences, insights, and the evolving use of technology to keep workers safe in extreme conditions. OCTOBER 3, 2024

AGC Building Chapter Safety Initiative 2017 - 2021

Background

It started with Board members discussing, “What can AGC do to help GC and SC member enhance safety performance? The same contractors work together project after project; everyone has the same goal of going home safe and sound at end of each day; then why shouldn’t we all work together to help all contractors strive for a common goal and a minimum standard?”

From the first discussion, we’ve narrowed the topic area to fall protection, electrical safety, and silica safety. This may change based on what we hear from members over time.

The Board adopted the Safety Initiative as a major service/education focus. They also created the Safety Management Team to develop and implement a plan for the Initiative.

Emphasis

The three most common safety violations that we see every day on jobsites:

• Fall Protection violations
• Electrical Safety violations
• Silica Enforcement

The three-major obstacles to safety enforcement or safety training on the jobsite are:

• Inconsistency between jobsites, people, and companies on how to enforce safety policies/rules/standards
• Complacency and “old habits”
• Lack of qualified people to conduct training (especially in rural areas of state).

The Nebraska Building Chapter’s leadership has adopted a major initiative to work towards a common goal and a minimum standard for safety on all jobsites. The vision is for general contractors and specialty contractors to work together and help each other enforce safety rules and ensure that everyone goes home safe!

The reality means everyone enforcing the minimum standard, OSHA, which is the law. The reality means trying to reach the goal of 100% of all employees having OSHA-10 cards. Lastly, all companies always raising the bar on their own safety goals.

Mission of the Safety Initiative

Help each other enforce safety rules to ensure that every person on construction site goes home safe and healthy at end of the workday.

Goals of Safety Initiative

• By end of 2021 have 100% of all AGC members and other contractors on AGC jobsites enforcing OSHA standards as they apply to falls, electrical safety and possible another topic.
• By the end of 2021, 100% of all AGC members will have set their own company goals to improve safety in their firm and have a way to measure progress towards the goal.
• By the end of 2021, 100% of all AGC members will encourage and support all contractors on their jobsites to set their own company goals for improving safety.

Action Items

1. The Safety Initiative focuses on three areas, for effectiveness and efficiency emphasis may be placed on one each year.
2. Research “best practices” in specific areas for compliance training, compliance motivation programs, etc. and resources available.
3. Develop a “Safety Initiative Improvement Goal” planning document and commitment form to be used in individual companies.
4. Bring resources and planning tools together into an easy to distribute, usable document package.
5. Develop promotional piece on Safety Initiative; communicate and distribute info; gain buy-in for Initiative from management above Superintendent level, with hopes that top management will drive the Initiative down to superintendent and jobsite worker in all member firms.
6. Plan Roundtable Discussions with specialty contractors and GCs, likely hosted by the SC Forum and Safety Committee.
7. Provide a package of resources that current AGC members could offer to subcontractors that need help with their safety program starting at the “101” level (could tie the resource package into a membership incentive). Referred to as “Safety Starter Kit.”
8. Support a state-wide Stand-Down for fall safety held annually in the spring.