ENR Midwest Contractor of the Year: Walbridge
The company’s “beyond compliance” approach of the past two decades requires all employees and subcontractors to participate in the Management and Unions Serving Together safety program. On jobsites, employees must implement fall protection measures for any work occurring more than 6 ft above grade. Additionally, all crane operators must carry up-to-date certifications.
“The crane is the most useful tool on the jobsite but also the most dangerous,” LaClair says. “We make sure the equipment is in good shape and the best-trained person is in the seat.”
For work in the field, Walbridge mandates “safety huddles” three times per day to keep employees abreast of tasks and related risks from start to finish, an approach intended to encourage workers to think for themselves about how to perform their jobs safely.
Meantime, “our safety professionals act as ‘player-coaches,’ providing input and helping direct the job as safely as possible,” LaClair says.
The same approach is in play for evaluating candidates for subcontracting assignments. “If an otherwise qualified firm appears to be having issues with their injury rates, we’ll engage its management and see what it’s doing to address the problem,” LaClair says. “When you act like a coach instead of a cop, contractors are more willing to open up and ask how to better protect their people. That’s the culture we want to create.”
