Safe Steel and Concrete
| Safe Steel and Concrete Thank you for publishing your article on concrete and steel, “Negative Tactics of Concrete Promoter Infuriate Steel Boosters”. I am a producer of concrete and we do many concrete-reinforced buildings as well as steel-framed buildings. We strongly believe that whether it’s concrete-framed or steel-framed, it should be built for safety. My only comment is to help educate and remove the perception that a high-rise Class A long-span office building cannot be built with a concrete frame, when in fact it can and is being done all around the world today. Whether concrete-framed or steel-framed, I think we should all agree that, when designed properly, either system is very safe. Fortunately in today’s market owners have a choice of either system or a hybrid system. Let’s applaud our structural engineers and architects for using technology to its fullest extent. I could not agree more with Mr. Warner’s opinion concerning college recruiting for the construction industry. After being in the environmental, health and safety profession for over 20 years, I believe that the future leaders of this industry have no clue how poor EHS results can affect the return on investment for contractors. Most conctractors feel that the cost of insurance, along with medical insurance, is just the cost of doing business. EHS management practices in conjunction with an understanding of the risk control and insurance costs would be beneficial for contractors. I would be willing to bet, if you took a survey in engineering and construction management programs, that the participants would not have a clue of the impact that a well-managed EHS program would have on ROI for a contractor. The future leaders of the construction industry must be fully educated in all aspects of effective management systems, to provide the best product, on time, within cost, and with the fewest injuries to employees as possible. |