M&I Electric knows that a successful safety and health program requires hard work, dedication and daily practice in all aspects of our operation. We approach Safety as a Culture. Everyone within our company must view Safety as an integral part of their everyday work environment. Our prime goal (and concern) is to provide accident-free work sites for all of our employees. This also includes those that work around us as well. In order to accomplish this goal, our commitment to our safety program goes well beyond compliance.
Fostered through management commitment, our comprehensive safety and health program includes a formal safety organization staffed with safety professionals with numerous years of experience, manuals, written policies and procedures pre-employment screening, training, pre-job evaluations and an awards and incentive program.
Our Experience Modification Rate (EMR) and TIR are well below the industry average. Another key factor in or programs success is the owners and managers of the company play an active role in that commitment to safety in order to keep our workplace accident-free. The following are key elements of our safety program:
Management Involvement
Our safety program has the continuous, visible involvement and support of senior management. Management involvement comes in many forms. The Board of Directors, Executive Officers, and Management Team, ensure safety is in the forefront of every meeting. They also express their commitment, expectation and concern for safety at every level throughout the organization. In addition, our senior managers communicate with the safety staff on a weekly or more frequent basis to stay apprised of current safety issues and assist as needed.
Management is responsible and accountable for safety. Our safety and health program is effective because senior management demands and expects safe performance and objective achievements.
Employee Safety Training
All employees including management attend training throughout the year. Training comes from many sources to include; formal in house, third party, compliance dissemination and daily gang box topics. In addition, we support our employees by providing in-house training specific to our industry. This training includes, but is not limited to, OSHA 10 and 30 hour supervisor training, electrical safe work practice training, fall protection, operator certification, trenching and excavation to name a few. Each new employee attends the basic 4 Hour training courses as offered by the local safety councils. They may also attend specific training to customers’ premises. This training addresses the client-specific safety rules and regulations.
“Tool Box Talks” are daily or weekly, as required by site conditions and/or duration of the project. Active dialogue is encouraged by all employees to address the potential safety considerations of a particular jobsite.
Providing our employees with the necessary training and allowing them the empowerment to stop unsafe acts and or unsafe job tasks, reinforces and develops a safety consciousness that becomes an integral part of the company’s overall culture.
Pre-Job Safety Analysis
All projects require a pre-job safety plan to identify and manage potential safety hazards and risk. Our pre-planning methods include a review of the plans and work processes. Through this review, we strive to identify and eliminate hazards before they occur. We also plan for each project’s safety equipment and training needs. The pre-job safety plan is too be approved, by a designated member of our management team. The pre-job plan is in addition to project specific hazard control plans.
Safety Audits
Safety audits are performed at our job sites and facilities. The audits document and ensure deficiencies are addressed and abated.
Team members consisting of Site Superintendents, Shop Supervision, Field Technicians and the customers, at their discretion, perform a continual auditing process at each site.
In addition, our safety professionals and staff members including management make routine visits to our job sites to ensure the employees are implementing and utilizing the safety training skills they have received.
Safety Incentive Programs
We believe in rewarding positive safety performance. The safety incentive program has made a marked impact on employee involvement and dedication to ongoing safety practices. Accident-free employees can earn safety points, which accrue and be redeemed for merchandise. Employees can also earn additional points during routine safety audits if found performing task safely or taking the above and beyond approach to make the job task safe.
Near Miss Accident Reporting
We address “Near-Misses,” and treat them as though an injury or property damage actually happened. This procedure involves a thorough investigation. This allows us to implement controls to prevent future incidents.
If there is an injury or illness, our objectives are the following:
- Provide the immediate care to our employee,
- Follow up with the investigation results in order to identify the root cause(s) and make the appropriate corrections,
- Return the employee back to work safely and productively, and
- Share the event company-wide so others can be aware of and correct or eliminate the potential existence of similar conditions at other sites.
In Summary
Today we have an educated field staff and supporting management group that administers our safety program, and views the safety department as a valued resource. Safety has become such a part of our culture that our marketing department promotes our safety methods to perspective customers, as one element of our overall customer service package. We take pride in being a leader in electrical safety and recognize that it is a continuous endeavor and commitment.
Two fundamental principles have contributed to our success 1) our belief that all accidents are preventable, and 2) our commitment that if a work task cannot be performed safely we will not perform the task.
At M&I Electric, we are committed to deliver a higher standard of safety performance to the unique challenges of your job.