Posts Tagged ‘jobsite safety’

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.

UNENDING PRACTICE CREATES SAFETY EXCELLENCE CULTURE

Wednesday, June 17th, 2020

Excellence in safety doesn’t just happen. It takes practice and leadership.

At Egan Company, our teams strive to promote safe and healthy working environments and to maintain safe practices at all times. Our safety program is not static—it continually evolves and improves to meet our own standards and those of our customers.

Two consecutive years without an OSHA recordable injury is a milestone we celebrate, and there’s one group at Egan Company that achieved zero injuries in 2018 and 2019– the Industrial Controls team.

A business offering within Egan, the Industrial Controls business unit provides electrical installations, system integration, PLC/HMI programming, engineering, custom-built control panels, and a variety of other specialty controls services.

Last year, this group delivered 135,332 combined hours in the field and in our UL 508A Panel Shop.

KEY CONTRIBUTORS IN SAFETY

When safety is a cultural priority, experience through field practices and leadership become key contributors to reaching success in safety.

Through implemented programs like jobsite audits, safety observations, and safety lunches, a safety mindset is emphasized and it is everyone’s job to make sure these are completed every month. 

“The Industrial Controls leadership team has made safety a top priority. We believe the safety team has implemented these important programs to emphasize the importance of safety. It is our job to make sure these are followed through.” said Mike Tengwall, Egan Company Vice President. “Our experienced project managers and field leaders have a good understanding of our jobsites and the hazards associated with the work they are performing. If there are any questions related to safety, we involve the safety team early to help us execute work in a safe manner.”

COMMITMENT SHOWS

Recently, this team was recognized for an Award of Honor by the Minnesota Safety Council. 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. 

Significant growth over the last few years has also added to the need for additional safety measures. As new employees have joined the team, additional space has become necessary, and demand for project output has increased, the continued focus on safety has grown as well. 

Terry Fredricks, Egan Company Panel Shop Foreman

Specifically, in the panel shop, there’s a continued commitment to executing work in a safe manner, identifying hazards, and communicating on a daily basis through the daily safety plan to keep everyone aware. This, coupled with the weekly tool box talk and daily stretching, sends a powerful message that safety is at the top of the priority list.

“As leaders, we always follow up on safety concerns or near-misses with employees and customers to understand what can be done going forward to eliminate any future risk to people or property,” adds Terry Fredricks, Egan Company Panel Shop Foreman. “In addition, from a tool and process standpoint, continued investments in leading technologies have assisted in achieving our safety goals.

Safety remains the number one priority at Egan Company – across all business units and teams. The leadership team and dedicated safety team empowers and holds every employee accountable to the highest level of safety possible. Thanks to the many advocates across all levels of our Company that promote safety excellence, safety is a long-standing standard and foundation of our culture.

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.

Safety Performance Recognized as Exceptional

Wednesday, June 13th, 2018

Safety is a part of who we are at Egan Company. We do more than just embrace it – we are dedicated to living it and breathing it every day in our offices, shops, and jobsites.

For more than 10 years, we’ve been awarded multiple Governor’s Safety Awards by the Minnesota Safety Council for this commitment to workplace safety and health. And, this year proves to be no different.

Egan recently received five Meritorious Achievement Awards. These awards recognize incident 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 program scale.

Egan was one of approximately 280 Minnesota companies recognized at the Governor’s Safety Awards luncheon this year. To read more about the evaluation scorecard and award categories visit Minnesota Safety Council’s website.

 

A Decade of Safety Recognition

Tuesday, June 20th, 2017

For the tenth consecutive year, Egan was awarded multiple Governor’s Safety Awards by the Minnesota Safety Council for its commitment to workplace safety and health.

Egan received two Meritorious Achievement Awards recognizing incident 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 program scale.

In addition, Egan was one out of 108 winners of the Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognizes exceptional efforts in implementing a comprehensive safety program and the excellent safety record we have achieved as a result.

“Recognition is always great, but that isn’t why we have a strong safety culture at Egan,” said Larry Hanson, Egan Company Safety Director. “Dedication to our safety culture starts at the top, and we are very fortunate to have leaders that are committed to providing a safe workplace for every Egan employee.”

Egan was one of approximately 250 Minnesota companies recognized at the Governor’s Safety Awards luncheon this year. To read more about the evaluation scorecard and award categories visit Minnesota Safety Council’s website.

PCL Safety Champions

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017

Onsite top honors! Congratulations to Plumbing Field Leader Mike Aitkin, on being recognized as this month’s Safety Champion at the Grand Casino-Hinckley and Mille Lacs expansions.

A second congratulations to the Egan crew at the Grand Casino-Mille Lacs expansion. Under the leadership of Sheet Metal Field Leader Ed Holmgren and Plumbing Field Leader Dustin Hochhalter, we have been recognized and selected as this month’s Safety Crew on site!

Thank you for continuing Egan’s safety commitment on all jobsites, and thank you to PCL Construction for recognizing our safety efforts.

Together, Safety Brings Us Home

Together, Safety Brings Us Home

Friday, April 14th, 2017

Empowering employees is the key to ensuring safety on all jobsites, and it’s something Egan Company takes to heart with its Safety Brings You Home program. The intention is to make any employee – from apprentice to field leader to project manager – feel comfortable speaking up when they see something risky or unsafe onsite or even in the office.

As 2015 came to a close, Egan’s incident rate was the highest it had been in five years at 3.33. While it was significantly lower than the industry standard, our ultimate goal is ZERO injuries, so 3.33 was too high.

As a result, Egan’s Leadership, Safety team, and other key partners took a step back to evaluate and create a plan to reduce our incident rate. Egan’s long-standing safety program was expanded, further promoting safety on jobsites and in the offices.

Egan’s safety program has everyone working together for one common goal: going home safe. The biggest improvement made in 2016 was the standardized morning stretching routine. In addition to warming us up and getting us physically prepared for work, it is a great mental transition into a safety mindset to carry you through the day.

– Paul Hartman, Egan Company Electrical Field Leader

At the start of 2016, Egan employees on all jobsites and in all offices signed a safety pledge – pledging to work and live safely. Additional safety resources were provided for employees to increase their knowledge throughout the year.

Highlights of these efforts include:

  • Increase in available online and hands-on safety courses like CPR/First Aid, OSHA 10, OSHA 30, and Defensive Driving
  • Modified new hire orientation to emphasize safety commitment, including a follow-up orientation for field/shop employees within 30 days of hire date
  • Project managers more actively involved in the Continuous Improvement Observation and Safety Lunch programs

Lastly, a photo contest was held – employees were encouraged to submit pictures depicting what makes them work safely and get home at the end of the day. With an overwhelming volume of
submissions, all photos were incorporated into jobsite posters to remind us all what motivates us to work safe.

Watch to see why we work safe (2.5 minutes)

With these added safety efforts, employees were given the tools and knowledge to feel comfortable speaking up. It also added some excitement and energy into the safety program.

“After recognizing the need to lower our incident rate, I’m proud to say Egan ended 2016 with an Incident Rate of 1.67 – our lowest in the history of the Company,” said Larry Hanson, Egan Company Safety Director. “We continue our commitment to safety, and are continually looking into new efforts that give our employees every opportunity to advance their knowledge to stay safe and work toward our goal of zero injuries.”

For 2017, Egan is continuing efforts to support safety advocacy, both at home and on the job. Safety benefits us all, and our focus will continue on safe driving, preventing soft tissue injuries, and increasing the safety knowledge with employees and their families.

Why do YOU Work Safe?

Monday, January 16th, 2017

Why do YOU work safe? In 2016, Egan committed to lowering our incident rate by developing safety initiatives to engage our employees and keep safety first, always.

To thank our employees and business partners for helping in reducing our incident rate to 1.67 for 2016, we’d like to show why we work safe.

Safety Milestones – September 2016

Friday, September 30th, 2016

Safety - EHS leadership conference

Over the past few weeks Egan has celebrated a few safety milestones:

  • 10 years! Our Service Garage team recently celebrated 3,650 days injury free!
  • The Egan team on the Grand Casino-Mille Lacs expansion was recognized and selected as the Safety Crew of the month.
  • Matt Tembruell, Egan Company Plumbing Field Leader, was recognized as this month’s Safety Champion at the Grand Casino-Hinckley expansion.
  • Jason Lindula, Egan Company Safety Coordinator, spoke at the 2016 Safety Leadership Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. He shared tips and techniques on how companies can ensure a top-down leadership approach to safety.

Thank you, everyone, for continuing Egan’s safety commitment on all jobsites, in all shops, and in all offices!

Together, Safety Brings Us Home.