Georgia Utility Contractors Association Inc. (GUCA) held its 2012 GUCA Hard Hat Safety Award Gala on March 22 to honor the 2011 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 Loudermilk Center in Atlanta to celebrate safety awareness and recognize the overall winner from the chosen category winners.

The GUCA 2011 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 2011 GUCA Hard Hat Safety Award are as follows: 0-400,000 Man-Hours Plant Contractor: Douglas Electrical & Plumbing Company Inc., Douglas, Ga.; 400,000-plus Man-Hours Plant Contractor: Brad Cole Construction Inc., Carrollton, Ga.; 0-100,000 Man-Hours Pipeline Contractor: Turpin Inc., Lake City, Ga.; and, 100,000-plus Man-Hours Pipeline Contractor: Richard Harp Excavation Inc., Fayetteville 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,” noted Scott Brumbelow, GUCA assistant executive director.

As with all awards there must be an overall winner, and Douglas Electrical & Plumbing Company Inc., went above and beyond others and consistently put safety in the forefront for each employee and for each job undertaken by the company.

Douglas Electrical & Plumbing Company Inc., has been in business for 49 years and has always valued the importance of safety. While employing 17 people, Douglas Electrical & Plumbing Company Inc. is committed to making safety and the welfare of its employees first and foremost every day.

“Our safety record over 50 years shows that when a company focuses on safety training, individual safety responsibility and safety awards, it can produce many man-hours without time loss injuries. We regard our employees as an integral part of our ongoing success and each employee is reminded on a continual basis that their physical and mental safety is very important,” said Maudine Wright, Douglas Electrical & Plumbing Company Inc.

The association is proud of all the members who help raise the bar for safety and set the standard for the utility construction industry. GUCA members are exposed to hazards each and every day, and GUCA continues to reward the members that go beyond what is expected by OSHA.

GUCA is a non-profit state trade association located in metro Atlanta representing more than 290 contractor and affiliated firms statewide. GUCA represents the workforce which supplies, installs and rehabilitates the infrastructure of water, sewer, gas, electrical, telecommunications and other underground utility systems for the public and private sector including pipe and plant installation. For more information, visit www.guca.com.

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