The new air control tower at McConnell Air Force Base was sited directly adjacent to the existing fully operational tower. As a result, the team had to consider the potential risks posed to those workers. Burns & McDonnell took a proactive approach with a focus on preplanning work activities to confirm that safe work measures had been considered. The firm also implemented leading indicators to measure safety performance.  

“Safety was a big trigger we had to identify early,” says Andrew Mashek, federal project manager at Burns & McDonnell. “It was front of mind when we laid out our intended access and laydown plan, and through all of the phasing.” The project participated in National Safety Week and held regular safety lunches to reward employees for safe work practices. Across all team members—Burns & McDonnell, Walsh Federal and its subcontractors—the project had no incidents, lost-time accidents or recordables during construction of the tower.

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