For the third consecutive year, and the fourth of five, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has recognized Haskell with the National Safety Excellence Pinnacle Award, the organization's highest safety honor.
And rather than becoming commonplace, the award, one of 12 awarded for 2023, means more each passing year as the company and the scale of its projects grow, said Lance Simons, Haskell’s Vice President of Safety and Quality.
“We're growing dramatically in the types of markets and scopes of work we're performing, and all indications are we're doing it safely,” Simons said. As Haskell exposure hours continue to increase, we are consistently creating the safest work environments for all parties.
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“The clients we’re engaged with want to work with the safest contractors. So, safety and taking care of people first not only is morally the right thing to do, it helps provide for families and assists our growth as an organization moving forward.”
Statistically, Haskell is measured against the commercial construction industry based on the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), which is compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2023, Haskell team members worked a company-record 4.6 million hours and recorded a TRIR of 0.39, more than four times better than the non-residential construction industry average of 1.7 incidents per 100 workers.
Digging deeper into metrics, the Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate, which measures the severity of injuries, Haskell recorded an impressive 0.22.
Perhaps most important is the Work in Place (WIP) metric, which reflects Haskell’s safety management of safety of everyone on the job site, including all contract partners. In 2023, based on 9.3 million hours worked, Haskell’s WIP was 0.82, the lowest since tracking began in 2014.
“When we look at our client experience survey data, safety is always at the top, and we’re proud of that,” Simons said. “Our clients know that we have a strong safety culture. Though there are always areas where we can improve, they see our continued efforts to pick the lock to get zero injuries.”
The biggest reason for the 2023 WIP improvement from the 2022 record-low of 0.92 was a 24% decrease in reportable injuries among contract partners, who regularly distinguish Haskell’s safety culture as noticeably better than other large general contractors.
Haskell aims to extend that culture to its partners and elevate safety industrywide.
“I think because of our pre-qualification processes if they weren't moving in the right direction and didn't have the right safety cultures, chances are they're not going to be working for Haskell,” he said. “We welcome opportunities to partner with these other contractors. Providing avenues for growing their business and strengthening their organizations through interactions with Haskell, is something we are proud of. We are somewhat of a big brother. We ought to be making the industry better. I truly believe that.”
Haskell’s safety performance is one of many ways in which it ensures the greatest possible risk management on its clients’ projects. Contact our project management team to discuss your facilities needs.
