Safety Is No Accident

Austin, Texas – Jan. 5, 2018 – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, commonly referred to as OSHA, identifies falls as the leading cause of injuries and deaths in the construction industry. Nearly 40% of worker deaths in 2016 were fall related (Top 10 OSHA Citations of 2016, 2016). OSHA also names scaffolding infractions as the 3^rd most cited violation within the industry. As a company in this notoriously dangerous and strict field, Bilt Rite Scaffold has successfully risen above all safety benchmarks. We’ve built systems 444 ft up in the air and erected and dismantled millions of pounds of scaffold over the years. Bilt Rite employees have worked together to remain vigilant and uphold the highest safety standards and because of this dedication, have proudly reached 250,000 hours worked without any recordable injuries. The company hasn’t had a work day restriction injury since 2015 and has never had an employee death or OSHA citation. These milestones have contributed to a better than average Experience Modification Rate, EMR, of 0.77.

In 2015 Bilt Rite came under new ownership with General Manager Chris Kelley taking over and began a significant overhaul of the company’s safety department. A standardized safety manual was introduced along with standardized safety procedures. Bilt Rite has also recently expanded into the world of material hoists as well. Through the use of Geda and Beta Max hoists, we reduce our workers risks of injury by reducing man lines up and down the scaffold along with decreasing the number of workers present on a jobsite. With fewer men and hands touching the scaffold, the probability of injuries goes down. A proactive safety incentive program was also implemented that encouraged employees to report any potential hazards. All field employees, upon being hired, begin 30 hours of classroom and field safety training before they are eligible to start working with a crew on jobsites. Their training includes, but is not limited to, Fall Protection, Confined Space, Motorized Vehicle Training, Scaffold Safety, Forklift Training, Crane Rigger Training and Hazard Communication and OSHA 10. All upper level employees to include foreman, supervisors, and project managers are OSHA 30 certified. Training is continually practiced and reviewed by all employees to guarantee the safest jobsite environment. Our safety practices continue past orientation to every jobsite in the form of Job Box Talks. Every crew member gathers before their shift begins and discusses any foreseeable risks associate with the job that day. These discussions are site specific, job specific and hazard specific. Local weather, possible hazardous chemical contaminations and power line locations are all common items of discussion. Along with each shift having daily Job Box Talks, employees meet for scheduled company-wide safety meetings. For the past 2 years, Bilt Rite has utilized its sister company ATTAG Training to help reach its safety goals. ATTAG has trained 100+ individuals in Competent Scaffold User Training.

“There has been a huge shift in the last decade across the construction industry with an emphasis on safety. Most jobs now require employee safety paperwork before work has begun along with jobsite orientation and pre-shift paperwork”, says general manager and CEO Chris Kelley. “We caught on early to this and not only acknowledged the trend but wanted to be an industry safety leader in a notoriously dangerous area of work. We’ve gone the extra mile by not only practicing the most updated of standards but by partnering with companies to train their employees through ATTAG on how to work off our systems.” The partnerships with different companies have allowed us exposure to multiple safety programs and ensured that we are continually reviewing and implementing the newest safety procedures.

Through our dedication and continued innovation, we’ve built a safety program that adapts to the changing construction environment and keeps Bilt Rite employees safe and out of harm’s way. The results speak for themselves and Bilt Rite will continue to remain the benchmark of safety within the scaffold industry.

Galassi, Thomas. (2016, Oct). Top 10 OSHA Citations of 2016; A Starting Place for Workplace Safety. Retrieved from https://blog.dol.gov/2016/10/18/top-10-osha-citations-of-2016-a-    starting-point- for-workplace-safety.