Georgia Utility Contractors Association Inc. held its 2008 GUCA Hard Hat Safety Award Gala March 13 to honor the 2007 Hard Hat Safety Award recipients.

Awards were presented to members dedicated to making safety a priority for every employee. GUCA members and guests gathered at the 755 Club in Turner Field in Atlanta to celebrate safety awareness and recognize the overall winner from the chosen category winners.

The GUCA 2007 Hard Hat Safety Award is composed of categories based upon type of work — plant or pipeline construction — and if company man-hours exceed or stay below 100,000 or 400,000 hours.

By creating these different categories, GUCA was able to distinguish four companies who excel in applying their safety programs to all of their workers and job sites. The category winners for the 2007 GUCA Hard Hat Safety Award are as follows:

• Less than 400,000 man-hours, plant contractor: Douglas Electrical & Plumbing Company Inc. of Douglas, Ga.

• More than 400,000 man-hours, plant contractor: Skanska USA Civil Southeast of Atlanta

• Less than 100,000 man-hours, pipeline contractor: Turpin Inc. of Forest Park, Ga.

• More than 100,000 man-hours, pipeline contractor: DeKalb Pipeline Company of Conyers, Ga.

“Category winners are chosen on a number of judging criteria including written safety program, number of employees who have received OSHA required training such as Competent Person Excavation, Confined Space Entry and First Aid/Blood Borne Pathogen Training,” said Bradley Newcomer, GUCA director of Safety & Education.

As with all awards there must be an overall winner, and DeKalb Pipeline Company went above and beyond others and consistently put safety in the forefront for each employee and for each job undertaken by the company, GUCA officials said.

DeKalb Pipeline Company has been in business for 48 years and has always valued the importance of safety. With more than 50 employees, DeKalb Pipeline is committed to making safety and the welfare of its employees first and foremost every day.

“Our employees see the commitment that we have made regarding their safety, and they have a sense of comfort knowing that we are concerned about their well-being. Motivation to work safely stems from this commitment; therefore our employees take care and caution when on the job site. With the tightening economy, safety is even a greater concern. It is more important than ever to find cost savings and with a good safety program, your savings are tremendous. We are fortunate that our employees have taken a vested interest in safety,” said James King, president of DeKalb Pipeline Company.

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