Rose Recognition of Safety Excellence: North Mechanical
North Mechanical is honored to be recognized by AGCI as the September 2018 Safety ROSE Recognition recipient. Learn more below about their first-hand experience highlighting the importance of safety leadership from management to the field.
Risk of Construction
As with any contracting or service company, North Mechanical employees are faced with numerous hazards and exposures throughout the year. On the morning of March 28, 2017, one North Mechanical employee was put to the test. An early morning call had the employee arriving to a facility to address an alarming pump located in a 30-foot deep vault. This vault was in the main parking lot and directly in the middle of regular traffic flow. After assessing the work and reviewing the area, the North Mechanical employee believed the vault would be classified as a confined space. Wisely, the employee notified the North Mechanical safety department to have a confined safety assessment performed. Unfortunately, the client disagreed with the approach.
Following The Process
The North Mechanical Safety Director arrived to review the work and assess the space. It was determined that it did indeed meet the confined space classification and adequate measures needed to be taken to ensure safe entry into the vault, as well as ensuring proper barricades and retrieval were readily available. The customer disagreed with the approach and informed North Mechanical that the work would be performed by another contractor. The customer commented the vault was plenty safe for entry, air monitoring was not necessary and that having someone "up top" was sufficient protection. The North Mechanical employee left and the North Mechanical Safety Director notified the Account Manager of the situation.
Value of Strong Communication
The North Mechanical Account Manager reached out to the customer to discuss the importance of maintaining safety standards. The conversation ended on a positive note with the customer acknowledging the importance of never reducing standards to meet another's expectations, especially when we know there are hazards or a potential for an unsafe atmosphere.
It's Everyone's Job
North Mechanical felt fortunate to have employees who took the provided safety training seriously and worked to actively implement those practices on job sites. North Mechanical employees were also pleased to know management supported their decisions.
North Mechanical has shared this story company wide to show that each employee has the support of management to make the safest decision and to ensure that any hazard they encounter is reduced to the maximum extent possible. This was an opportunity to support North Mechanical's safety culture, vision and values.
Feedback
"North Mechanical has made great investments not only in training our staff and arming them with the knowledge and tools to perform their work safely, but also by incorporating those values in the very core of our business. Management is committed to supporting our employees and I am beyond pleased to see this value in action throughout our culture." - Rodney J. Foley, Vice President, North Mechanical
