Posts Tagged ‘Egan safety’

How We Stay Safe: Safety Absolutes

Wednesday, February 14th, 2024

There is one topic of conversation at Egan Company that every employee can join in on: safety. Every day, conversations around safety are held to ensure jobsites, offices, and every employee is following safe practices and goes home without  injury. While every conversation around safety is different, there are 11 recurring themes that are often at the center of safety discussions. 

Egan’s Safety Absolutes are guiding principles that are designed to reduce incidents and keep our employees, our customers, and our environment safe. The Absolutes were created to reiterate baseline expectations for performing work safely and have been a foundational part of Egan’s Safety Program. They are shared at orientation and posted on jobsites, in shops, around the office, and online to keep them fresh in everyone’s mind. These Safety Absolutes are just part of our company-wide initiatives to prioritize safety everywhere we work. This vigilance on safety resulted in a record-low 1.27 incident rate in 2023, and our Safety Absolutes will contribute to our future efforts of achieving zero incidents. 

EGAN COMPANY’S SAFETY ABSOLUTES

Stop Work Expectation: All employees are expected to stop work if an unsafe condition exists.

Fall Protection: Proper fall protection will be used when working at heights at or above 6 feet. Some customers require fall protection at or above 4 feet.

Preventing Utility Hits: Prior to beginning any work activity that could damage an underground utility, there will be active locate tickets, and pre-dig photos or videos captured. Safe digging practices within 2 feet of locate marks will be used.

Excavation / Trenching: Excavations will be properly sloped, benched, and/or protected from cave-in.

Lockout / Tagout: All sources of energy will be properly isolated using locks and tags.

Energized Work: Equipment will be de-energized, unless deemed infeasible (troubleshooting, certain life critical equipment) to turn off by all parties. Workers must be trained and authorized to perform this work using PPE, a signed permit, and approval from Egan Company management. First choice must always be to de-energize.

Hoisting And Rigging: Only authorized employees and proper equipment will be involved in all hoisting and rigging operations.

Confined Space: Confined space work will have documented training, air monitoring, permits, and rescue plans in place.

Operating Vehicles And Equipment: Vehicles and equipment will only be operated by trained and authorized employees.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Egan’s baseline minimum PPE must be worn, including hard hat, safety glasses, cut-resistant gloves, and proper footwear. The task or customer may require additional PPE such as a face shield or high-visibility vest.

Daily Safety Planning: Daily Safety Plans and Weekly Toolbox Talks will be completed daily/weekly and Egan’s Active Stretching will be completed daily.

SAFETY FIRST. SAFETY ALWAYS.

These 11 Safety Absolutes aren’t just guidelines; they are essential focus points for every Egan employee to keep in mind every time they begin work. With these principles at the forefront of the work we do, we can continue to promote safety in the office and on the jobsite, and we can help keep ourselves, our colleagues, and our environment as safe as possible. Everything adds up to ensure we can go home to our families every day. 

Safety Measures Add Up

Wednesday, January 31st, 2024

“Safety first” is more than just a saying at Egan Company. It is a foundational belief that paves the way for great work, successful projects, and most importantly, the health and safety of our team. In 2023, Egan renewed our commitment to safety by prioritizing the core value and putting it first each and every day. 

This enhanced focus on safety resulted in our lowest recordable incident rate in Egan history: 1.27 (down from 1.95 in 2022). We are proud to be significantly below the industry average, thanks to the hard work of our employees. This number represents a number of things: the amount of injuries recorded throughout the year, the impact of incidents per hours worked, and of course, the hard work that goes into minimizing risks on the job site and reducing workplace injuries. Achieving a record-low incident rate required a daily commitment by every team and every individual, whether they were working from home, in the office, or on job sites. This number shows that our efforts pay off, and a future with zero workplace incidents is possible. 

HOW WE PUT SAFETY FIRST

Every day, Egan employees show up to work dedicated to the task at-hand and the safety of themselves, their colleagues, and their environment. By taking time to put safety first, we were able to do better work and go home safely.

This was done in a number of ways:

Daily Safety Planning – Before beginning work each morning on job sites, our crews participated in Daily Safety Planning, which outlined the day ahead and discussed potential hazards, risks, and considerations for teams to be aware of. Starting the day with a focus on safety helps set the tone and establish expectations on the job site.  

Toolbox Talks – Each week, Egan field leaders conduct “Toolbox Talks,” sharing important company updates and messages to their teams. Included in these weekly updates are important safety reminders and focuses, which often center around specific safety tips, equipment handling, or other necessary safety messaging.

Safety Lunches – Hard work does not go unrewarded. Teams who went injury free in a month during 2023 were recognized with a lunch. This helped reinforce our initiatives and reward the efforts made by each team throughout the year. 

Safety Absolutes – Through 11 specific messages, Egan has established non-negotiable safety expectations for every employee to follow. These absolutes are guiding principles for how we can ensure safety in everything that we do.

Individual and Team Efforts – Each team member, whether they work in the field, in the office, at home, or anywhere in between, plays a part in creating a safe work environment. We all contribute to a culture of safety and teamwork everywhere we go. 

STRIVING FOR ZERO INJURIES

While Egan achieved a record-low incident rate in 2023, our goal is zero injuries. We are continuing to work together to meet that goal and ensure every team member can go home at the end of the work day without injuries or near-misses. Everything adds up on the jobsite and in the office to lead to zero injuries and a safe work environment. 

“It’s inspiring to reflect on our achievements throughout 2023,” said Reid Romer, Egan Company Safety Director. “For the past 18 months, we’ve shifted our mindset to integrate safety and risk assessment into how we pursue, plan, and execute work. When we  manage our risk well on the front end, the results will follow. The result is a signal that we are building a strong balance between safety, quality, and production. This is important because safety is our leading core value. Our industry and customers are elevating their standards, so leading with safety is necessary to be sustainable. We’re on the cusp of what we’d consider best-in-class performance within our industry. It is the leadership within our organization, from our CEO to field leaders, that contribute to our culture of safety and instill that value in everyone who wears an Egan hard hat.” 

ACTIVE STRETCHING VS PASSIVE STRETCHING

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021

Active stretching is an integral part of every day at Egan Company. Although a seemingly simple task, stretching does more than just warm your muscles up, it also promotes a healthy lifestyle, increases range-of-motion, balance, heart rate, and engages muscles.

An Egan Company crew starting their day with active stretching

The reason active stretching takes place at the start of each day on every Egan jobsite is because it improves muscle function and releases tension; what better way to start the work day than with fully relaxed muscles. Unlike other types of stretching, active stretching only uses one’s own muscle contractions.

Taking the time to do a few simple exercises greatly decreases the rate of workplace injuries. Often implementing the smallest steps makes the biggest impact. We believe time spent stretching is time spent valuing the safety and lives of our employees.

For a video demonstration, view our active stretching training video. Over the course of the video, 12 active stretching exercises are demonstrated by Egan employees. Safety is a large part of our culture and our Active Stretching Program is just one aspect of the Safety Brings You Home initiative, which seeks to bring all employees home at the end of the day. For more about our commitment to safety and the lives of our team, check out our safety video.

Egan Company Named One of America’s Safest Companies

Friday, December 4th, 2020

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (December 4, 2020) EHS Today once again selected Egan Company as one of America’s Safest Companies for its commitment to worker safety and health.

The 10 organizations identified as America’s Safest Companies represent safety excellence and come in all shapes and sizes, including firms with a few dozen employees to multinational corporations with tens of thousands of employees. Together, all chosen organizations have one thing in common: to provide a safe working environment for their employees.

“Being named one of America’s Safest Companies is a tremendous honor!” said Reid Romer, Egan Company Safety Director. “When I think about safety at Egan, I think about our people. Our dedicated teams enable us to progress along our journey to safety excellence and to continue to grow, evolve, and excel safety within our organization. I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I believe the best is still to come.”

Egan Company maintains an ongoing, aggressive commitment to provide all employees with a safe and healthy place of employment. Through its safety program, on-going safety training, safety policy and practices, and a full-time safety team, employees are given knowledge and skills to ensure their own safety in the workplace.

“We have a true ‘Safety Culture’ at Egan Company. Everyone believes in our safety programs and is acting and responding to do our work in the safest way possible,” said Duane Hendricks, Egan Company President & CEO. “We have good safety results because of our many safety initiatives and the involvement of everyone. This sets us apart and keeps our people focused and safe.”

All award recipients were honored at EHS Today’s Virtual Safety Leadership Conference on November 10 and featured in a special section of the November issue of EHS Today magazine (read more here).

About Egan Company

Egan Company is a privately-owned, specialty contractor providing building trades to general contractors, engineers, building owners, property managers, and facility engineers. Specialties include: electrical, mechanical, curtainwall/glazing/metal panels (InterClad), millwrights, building technology, controls and system integration, and 24/7 service. Egan serves every stage of a building and provides in-house expertise in planning, design and engineering, construction, and maintenance. For more information about Egan Company, visit www.eganco.com.

About EHS Today

EHS Today, formerly known as Occupational Hazards, is a part of Penton Media, Inc. The publication informs safety, health, and industrial hygiene professionals in the manufacturing, construction, and service sectors about trends, management strategies, regulatory news, and new products that help them provide safe and healthy work sites. Since 2002, America’s Safest Companies has honored more than 200 organizations for their unwavering commit­ment to worker safety and health and environmental stewardship. 

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Media Contact:
Angela Schmidt
arschmidt@eganco.com  //  763-504-3471

DISCOVER EGAN: SPYDERCRANE

Tuesday, November 17th, 2020

Innovation and safety is the name of the game with Egan’s utilization of the new SpyderCrane mini lift. Identifying a need to install glass in a different way than before at a high-rise project, Egan’s InterClad and Safety teams brainstormed possible options. The innovative and compact SpyderCrane was the solution that fit the installation needed in the confined working area.

“Typically, Egan’s InterClad team utilizes a ground crane to install glass and windows in large high-rise buildings,” said Jason Lindula, Egan Company Safety Manager. “We now use the SpyderCrane to reduce material handling, create a safer installation process, and provide an opportunity for a smaller crew size.”

On a high-rise project jobsite, imagine the SpyderCrane on level six, two Egan employees on level five, and two Egan employees on level four. The SpyderCrane lowers the glass into place from above, allowing the Egan crews on the lower levels to install the glass into place quickly and safely.

Specifications of Egan’s SpyderCrane:

  • Capacity to lift 2,000 lbs.
  • Variable Geometry Outriggers – allows for lifts in tight spaces
  • Remote control and pressure sensitive controls
  • Narrow track width and low center of gravity

We’re still working out the kinks of utilizing a new piece of equipment,” said Ryan Woodruff, Egan Company Vice President. “But the SpyderCrane’s ability to install glass in tight spaces while we utilize additional installation tactics in other areas ensures we’re staying on track for the overall project.

With one SpyderCrane already active on a jobsite, a second SpyderCrane will be arriving soon for use on additional jobsites where confined installation is needed. The precision and safety of the SpyderCrane mini lift provides Egan an opportunity to increase accuracy and ensure safety while continuing to install glass on even the tallest high-rise buildings in the Midwest.

COVID-19: PLAN, DO, CHECK, ADJUST

Monday, July 27th, 2020

Egan’s preparedness and response during a global pandemic

Social distancing. Quarantine. Essential and nonessential. Adapting to COVID-19, over the last several months, has meant quickly adjusting to changes in all areas of our lives. It has put us in a place to define a “new normal”. For over 75 years, the heart of our business has been to provide skilled trades, professional services, and 24/7 response under all circumstances. Along with the rest of the world, we now know what “under all circumstances” means in the midst of a global health crisis.

While modifying the way we approach our business, Egan Company has continued its daily operations to meet customer needs without losing sight of our highest priority of keeping  our employees and trade partners safe under new and heightened safety measures that would not have even been a consideration just a few short days and weeks before. “In early March, we had to act quickly to ensure the safety of our employees and their families as well as respond to the new guidelines and necessary safety precautions on all jobsites and in all offices,” said Duane Hendricks, Egan Company President & CEO.

During the season of “Stay Home” Executive orders, the construction and skilled trades industry was deemed an essential service as critical to maintaining the health and safety of Minnesotans by Governor Tim Walz. With three offices, shops, and hundreds of jobsites, Egan continued to perform a large part of its work in providing specialty trades to customers. However, this hasn’t happened without challenge and a necessity to think differently. Through a mix of new precautions, remote work, leaner approaches, workforce reductions and furloughs, the response to COVID-19 has demanded focus. About 70% of Egan’s workforce reports to a jobsite or customer facility to perform work each day. For these frontline employees and crews, working remotely isn’t an option and ”six feet apart” is difficult. But the focus remains: ensuring all employees work in a safe and healthy environment, regardless of where the work is performed.

Four months in, the COVID-19 pandemic continues its evolution. In June, the State of Minnesota published requirements that all critical sector businesses need to develop and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. Access a copy of the Egan Company COVID-19 Exposure Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Plan below.

Like other companies, we’re still responding and adjusting to the many changes occurring every day, as well as adapting to a new way of working and being there for our customers,” said Hendricks. “In place of our face-to-face interactions, we’ve found new ways to connect by phone and online video calls to continue prioritizing and building relationships.

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There’s no doubt this pandemic will mold our future. And there will be key influences, including the importance of human interaction as well as thinking differently about buildings and building systems. Preparing customers and facilities for future occupancies could take on various different looks like: touchless fixtures, modified mechanical and HVAC systems, technology and building analytics, and even sanitizing lighting. Embracing these opportunities of what may lie ahead, we remain steadfast with the core priority of keeping those we value safe and healthy.

“In the last few months, we’ve learned that we can continue to meet customer needs, have productive remote employees, and maintain successful and positive jobsite environments during this unprecedented time,” said Hendricks. “As we navigate the future with COVID-19, we’ll continue to plan, do, check, and adjust, but our dedication to the safety and well-being of our employees, customers, and their families has been our top priority for 75 years, and will remain our priority for another 75 more!”

Additional resources and articles

ORGANIZATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH STATE SAFETY AWARDS

Wednesday, June 10th, 2020

The Minnesota Safety Council has awarded three Governor’s Safety Awards to Egan Company for excellence in safety. 

Egan is amongst a very small group of companies to receive an Award of Honor; recipients of this award have incident rates at least 91% better than the industry average and a score between 91 and 100 on the safety program evaluation scale. Egan received the Award of Honor in 2014 as well. 

Two Meritorious Achievement Awards were also earned, recognizing an outstanding record and incident rates better than the industry average for at least three years, respectively.

Traditionally, The Minnesota Safety Council honors award winners at its Governor’s Safety Awards Ceremony at its annual conference; however, due to COVID-19 developments, this event has been postponed until Fall 2020.

To read more about the scorecard and award categories, visit The Minnesota Safety Council website.

About Minnesota Safety Council

The Minnesota Safety Council, founded in 1928, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Minnesota by preventing unintentional injuries (“accidents”). Since 1934, the annual Governor’s Safety Awards program has honored Minnesota employers with exceptional safety performance. Applicants are judged on several years of injury data as it compares with their industry’s national statistics, and on their progress in implementing a comprehensive safety program.

Chase Partnership Spotlights Safety

Monday, December 2nd, 2019

The role safety plays – both in our work and at home – is an imperative piece to our success at Egan. Our goal every day is to keep our most valuable resource, our employees, safe. From the equipment, tools, and protective gear we use to the external safety classes and partnerships we provide, it is our mission to achieve zero injuries.

This Fall, Egan officially added another safety partnership to its list with the acceptance into the Construction Health and Safety Excellence (CHASE) program.

CHASE is an exclusive program created by the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota (AGC of MN) and the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

“Congratulations to Egan Company on becoming a CHASE Level 2 participant this October and for earning this recognition with its comprehensive safety program,” said Doug Swenson, Director of Safety and Field Training with AGC. 

The ultimate goal of this partnership with Minnesota contractors is to reduce and eliminate jobsite injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. With the addition of Egan, it currently has 42 member contractors across the state. 

Elected participants are those that implement effective safety and health programs and provide effective safety health training for management, supervisors, and employees. The program also recognizes those that go beyond basic compliance with OSHA standards and have an overall effective, long-term safety program. With this partnership, Egan must continually meet and maintain yearly safety requirements. 

“Our goal for every project we’re involved with is for it to be safer because Egan’s team is there,” said Reid Romer, Safety Director at Egan. “The CHASE partnership gives us, as well as our customers, a reassurance that Egan’s safety efforts are being applied and continuing to move forward as an organization.”

Strong Safety Performance Earns Governor’s Safety Awards

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019
Pictured above is Egan's Safety Committee.

Since 1934, the annual Governor’s Safety Awards program has honored Minnesota employers that are committed to workplace health and safety.

During this Spring’s 85th Annual Minnesota Safety & Health Conference, Egan Company received seven Governor’s Safety Awards for exceptional safety performance in 2018. This marks the 12th year Egan has been awarded multiple Governor’s Safety Awards.

Overall, Egan was one of approximately 294 employers to be honored through the awards program and one of 170 winners of the Meritorious Achievement award. Meritorious Achievement recognizes companies with incidence rates that are better than the industry average for at least three years, and a score between 50 and 74 on a 100-point safety program evaluation scale.

To read more about the evaluation scorecard and award categories visit Minnesota Safety Council’s website.

Pictured above is Egan’s Safety Committee.

Refined Initiatives Stimulate Safety Rate Reduction

Friday, April 5th, 2019

To be successful in the construction industry is no different than being successful in any feat, it requires consistency. Success demands day in and day out preparation, proper tools and effective training, equipment, and conditions. When it comes to safety, this recipe for success is the same.

From our company leaders to our field leaders and all of our employees in between, we believe the key to being safe is being proactive and consistently engaging our people with safety in everything we do. At Egan Company, safety is everyone’s job. It’s everyone’s job to make sure our safety policies and procedures are being consistently executed. It’s everyone’s job to help us achieve our goal of ZERO injuries and to come home to our family and friends at the end of the work day.

Through much hard work and a refined focus, Egan achieved its Total Recordable Incident Rate goal of < 2.0 for 2018. Our incident rate for the year was 1.87 (down from 2.42 in 2017) which is substantially below the average rate for specialty trade contractors in Minnesota (4.70). This was accomplished with over 1.8 million hours worked.

“Moving the safety needle in 2018 was a great achievement for us as a company,” said Reid Romer, Egan Company Safety Director. “Our safety incident rate is a direct reflection of the time and energy we’ve invested collectively to minimize risk and protect our people. This progress comes from specific safety initiatives we committed to improving over the past few years and we are now seeing rewarding results.”

An example of one of the changes made in 2017 was within the new employee on-boarding process. This process was specifically addressed after recognizing a pattern that new employees were consistently getting injured within their first six months on the job. Egan acknowledged this, invested in changing it, and elevated it on its priority list. As a result, new employee injuries have significantly decreased.

Though we are proud of this progress in 2018, Egan has no plans of slowing down its drive to be the best-in-class when it comes to safety. Utilizing employee and peer group feedback and experiences from last year, the bar is set even higher for 2019.

“Our goal is to continue to engage with our employees and do everything we can to keep this injury reduction track trending in 2019,” said Romer. “We’ll continue to fill the information and training pipelines, as well as remain diligent with planning in both the pre-mobilization and throughout our jobs. This, along with a team approach, will continue to give us an opportunity to lead the way for safety on our projects this year and in the future.”