McCarthy has been selected as number one among the nation’s largest construction companies for the firm’s commitment to safety and health. Selected as best in class in the Building Division (greater than one million work hours), McCarthy received this prestigious recognition during the national Associated General Contractors (AGC) 2007 Willis/AGC Construction Safety Excellence Awards presentation at the association’s recent annual meeting in San Antonio. As the premier industry safety recognition program, the Construction Safety Excellence Awards encourage construction firms to exceed safety standards set forth by the construction industry and to recognize those that do so.
“Safety is the most important thing we do each day,” explained Gary Amsinger, McCarthy vice president of corporate safety. “We are safety conscious, because it is simply the right thing to do to protect all individuals who come in contact with our building projects. At McCarthy we’ve made the quest for a zero injury work environment not just a priority but instead one of the company’s core values. While some in the construction industry still believe ‘you can’t afford to be safe,’ we reject that notion outright and have implemented a proactive safety program actively managed by a dedicated staff of full-time safety professionals. Our program includes a total approach to safety, which includes monitoring and tracking both McCarthy and subcontractor activities.”
McCarthy’s comprehensive safety program includes, among other features, detailed and ongoing employee training for every employee who steps foot on a McCarthy site (including subcontractors), on-site safety management and continual refinement of McCarthy safety guidelines. Created by McCarthy, these guidelines are well above and beyond minimum standards set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Statistical evidence of McCarthy’s safety success includes a recordable incident rate and a lost-time incident rate that are fractions of the national averages. McCarthy has outperformed the industry by a wide margin in these key statistical areas for more than a decade and, as a result, has been repeatedly recognized for the firm’s commitment to creating a safe workplace.
“While many construction safety programs focus on responding to potentially dangerous situations, we have taken a much more proactive approach,” explained Amsinger. “Before each work activity, a McCarthy foreman performs a hazard analysis with his crew. In addition, we continuously monitor and track how we perform inherently dangerous activities. As a result, we have a clear understanding of situations where workers may need more training to improve safety, and we can address potential issues before they may create an unsafe situation.”
The AGC Construction Safety Excellence Awards is a qualitative program that examines each company’s commitment to safety and occupational health management and risk control. This program looks for direct evidence of company management commitment, active employee participation, safety training, work site hazard identification and control, and safety program innovation.
About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest privately held construction firms in America. With 2008 revenues in excess of $3.4 billion, the 100% employee-owned firm provides construction management, design/build and general contracting services for clients nationwide. The firm is ranked the 10th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2008). In addition to its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, the company has additional full-service offices in Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, Newport Beach, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.
