Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci has recognized Reed & Reed, a Woolwich-based general contracting firm, for its efforts in providing a safe and healthy work environment for employees. At a State House ceremony, the Governor joined Maine Department of Labor officials in certifying the company under the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).
The certification covers work at Reed & Reed’s project site at Kibby Township, where the company is the prime contractor for the largest wind power project in New England, which includes erecting 44 wind turbines. It is the first SHARP-certified wind power project in the nation.
“For more than 80 years, Reed & Reed has been a leader in construction contracting and engineering providing good jobs for Maine workers,” said Baldacci. “Today, Reed and Reed is a regional leader in wind power construction, and they have incorporated safety and injury prevention in every process of their work, leading to a 60 percent reduction in reportable injury rates.”
“The SHARP Award is a tremendous honor for Reed & Reed and all of our employees. It recognizes the commitment our employees make to themselves and their co-workers,” said Reed & Reed CEO, Jackson Parker. “And to be the first wind power project in the nation to earn SHARP status tells the world that companies from Maine can compete at every level.”
“Reed & Reed is part of an elite group of Maine employers who have demonstrated high standards and industry leadership in creating a safe and healthy workplace for employees,” said Laura Fortman, commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor.
The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) offers incentives to private sector employers that take a proactive approach to workplace safety. The SHARP certificate is granted to employers who have demonstrated exemplary achievements in workplace safety and health by receiving a comprehensive safety and health consultation visit, correcting all workplace safety and health hazards, adopting and implementing effective safety and health management systems, and agreeing to request further consultative visits if major changes in working conditions or processes occur that may introduce new hazards. Employers meeting these specific program requirements may be exempt from general scheduled Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections for one year.
SafetyWorks! consultants worked with Reed & Reed to improve safety in all operational areas with a focus on injury prevention. Specific safety improvements involved developing of comprehensive safety training programs, scheduling site inspections and preparing job specific safety plans and hazard identification tools.
Founded as a bridge building firm in 1928 by Captain Josiah W. Reed and his son Carlton Day Reed, Reed & Reed has prospered under four generations of family leadership. In the last decade, the company has emerged as a regional leader in wind power construction, having built the first industrial wind power project in Maine in 2006, followed by the construction of numerous other large scale projects throughout New England in the years since. The Kibby project site under way now will be the largest wind power site in Maine producing 132 megawatts of clean, renewable power when it is finished.
SafetyWorks! is an outreach program of the Maine Department of Labor designed to reduce job-related injuries, illnesses and deaths. The program provided safety and health training to more than 10,000 Maine workers last year and consultation services to hundreds of employers.
SafetyWorks! services are voluntary and offered free of charge.
For more information, call 207/623-7900 or visit www.safetyworksmaine.com
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