At Harcon, safety is an attitude, an awareness, a frequent topic of discussion, and a responsibility that begins at the top with the president, and extends all the way to the newest employee. To ingrain this philosophy in all employees, we have established a culture that promotes an injury-free work environment with the overall goal for all employees to go home safe at the end of each work day. We did not set this goal because we wanted to avoid OSHA citations, decrease our insurance rates, or even to increase our business. We set this goal because it was the right thing to do. Our employees deserve a safe working environment free from hazards that could result in injury. With this philosophy in mind, we are dedicated to continually elevate our safety standards providing our employees and our clients with the safest jobsites in our industry through a wide variety of methods including:
SAFETY DRAWINGS
Harcon has developed color safety drawings. The drawings are in English and Spanish and some just show the wrong and right way of doing things with no words. They say pictures are worth a thousand words so we have filled them up with color pictures. What we found was that as the men wait to sign in they look at the pictures. It is just another way of getting the message to the workers so that they know how to protect themselves and their fellow workers so that they all go home every night without being hurt.
ZERO TOLERANCE – DRUGS & ALCOHOL
Pre-employment, post-accident for cause and random drug testing have earned Harcon the certification as “Drug Free Workplace”.
JOBSITE SAFETY MEETINGSAll of our jobsites hold and document a “tool box” talk to address job-relevant safety topics, update employees on latest OSHA rules and regulations, and give the opportunity for employee interaction on matters of safety. In addition to these weekly meetings, Superintendents and Foremen have daily safety talks with their employees before work begins.
100% FALL PROTECTION
Made possible by our custom-designed and tested Fall Arrest systems which allows our employees to be tied off while working on a leading edge.
JOBSITE INSPECTIONSOur Superintendents are constantly inspecting our jobs to improve on safety and once a week they fill out a job safety inspection report with the main focus placed on corrective action. In addition to our Superintendents’ safety inspections, our Safety Director, Project Managers, and General Superintendents also conduct routine safety inspections. Documentation and enforcement of adherence to safety policies provides the safety leadership that makes Harcon’s safety goals attainable.
SAFETY MONTHJune is National Safety month and in accordance, each year Harcon has a safety blitz sending teams of project managers, district managers, general superintendents, corporate office personnel and insurance representatives to all Harcon jobsites as an affirmation and celebration of what Harcon’s safety is all about.
TRAININGAll new-hires are required to complete new hire training before they begin work. As part of this requirement, all employees are required to watch the new hire orientation safety video. As employees’ responsibilities increase or change, so does their training with most foremen and superintendent receiving OSHA 10 or 30 hour classes and CPR/First Aid training. Each time Harcon uses a new forming system, part of the training always includes best work practices for safety. In addition, we hold quarterly superintendent safety meetings.
INCIDENT/INJURY REVIEWSAll incidents, including near misses are investigated focusing on root cause, not blame. We use this information to determine if retraining should occur, and at what level. It is also used as a learning tool with information disseminated to all jobsites as needed. We want to learn from our incidents so we do not repeat them again.
CARE
Harcon pays special attention to new employees that have never worked in the construction industry. Care stands for “Concerned About Rookie Employees”. These new hires are given a different color safety vest to be distinguished apart. They are teamed with a more experienced employee until they learn Harcon’s’ safety procedures.