Transportation construction companies from Pennsylvania and Texas were recognized for their outstanding corporate worker safety programs at the 2016 American Road & Transportation Builders Association's (ARTBA) National Convention in Tucson, Arizona. An awards ceremony took place during an Oct. 5 luncheon.
Winning firms were the top honorees of ARTBA's Transportation Development Foundation's (TDF) annual “Contractor Safety Awards,” a program developed to promote worker safety and health as core values of the transportation design and construction industry. Award winners demonstrated a low “OSHA Recordable Rate” as measured against benchmark metrics established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Finalists were selected based on their achievements, as evidenced by recordable rates below the industry average. Representatives from each company were invited to make a presentation before a panel of industry professionals during the association's convention. An ARTBA member panel of judges evaluated the entries based on corporate safety culture, operational safety plans and worker training programs. Awards were presented in two categories, based on the number of employee hours worked during the previous year:
• 500,000 to 1 million hours: Wagman Heavy Civil, York, Pennsylvania
• More than 1 million hours: Webber, LLC, The Woodlands, Texas
Honorable mentions went to Gray and Son/Maryland Paving of Timonium, Maryland, and Granite Construction of Watsonville, California.
For more than 30 years, the ARTBA Foundation, a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt entity, has supported an array of initiatives to “promote research, education and public awareness.” Its efforts include educational scholarships, awards, executive education seminars, roadway work zone safety and training programs, special economic reports and a national exhibition on transportation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
