The Utah Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and the Utah Chapter of the Design Build Institute of America Rocky Mountain Region have formed an official partnership to strengthen and develop best practices in the design-build community in Utah.

The partnership brings together two entities from the nonresidential construction industry into one working group.

“The value of this partnership is two-fold,” said Chris Hipwell, ABC Utah chapter president. “In addition to growing the design-build community here in Utah, ABC and DBIA will develop a cohesive effort for training and development through the partnerships’ programs.

“This will allow Utah to stay current on trends and practices in this arena and strengthen our design-build community which will foster commercial design and construction growth within the state,” Hipwell said. “The result of the partnership between ABC and DBIA will establish an accepted and recognized standard of design-build knowledge and experience for our architectural-engineering-construction community.”

Program offerings will include educational seminars, conferences, roundtable panel discussions, publications and an awards program.

The Utah Labor Commission, Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division and ABC Utah also recently signed a partnership agreement to promote occupational safety and health in Utah work places. The official signing took place at ABC’s annual safety convention held at the Farmington Legacy Center.

The partnership agreement between UOSH and ABC recognizes the value of a collaborative relationship to promote occupational safety and health in Utah workplaces. The agreement will raise awareness and demonstrate commitment to workplace safety while continuing to promote the national dialogue on safety.

The partnership recognizes the commitment to worker protection and the importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment for employees of Utah’s construction workforce. In addition, UOSH and ABC are committed to work as partners to achieve construction workplace safety through shared strategies and objectives.

The agreement is expected to improve safety performance through best safety practices and a decrease in workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities. In addition, the sustained partnership program will decrease worker compensation costs as well as other direct or indirect costs.