The National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) recently honored chapter award recipients at the Third Annual National Awards Dinner, which took place in conjunction with NUCA’s 2006 Washington Summit and Spring Meetings, June 6 to 8.
NUCA of Oregon and Southwest Washington (NUCAORSWWA) has been awarded 2005 Chapter Awards of Excellence for its Web site and outstanding leadership by both the chapter’s president and executive director.
Chapter Awards of Excellence are presented to NUCA chapters that support their members, the association, the industry and their communities with outstanding publications, services and events.
While the NUCAORSWWA Web site (www.nucaorswwa.com) is primarily for members, it also is a useful reference tool for prospective members.
Web site content focuses on upcoming meetings/events, safety issues and changes in membership. Both scholarship and membership applications can be downloaded from the Web site, thereby saving both time and money.
Contractor members also can download a copy of a safety plan developed with the city of Portland to assist them in developing their own plans.
The site is supported solely by chapter funds.
Roy Moore, president of Moore Excavation Inc. of Portland, won the 2005 award for Outstanding Leadership by a Chapter President.
Involved in the sewer construction industry for more than 40 years, Moore has always been a strong advocate of the underground utility contractor. He was in fact instrumental in the formation of the chapter.
During his tenure as president, he has been able to double the chapter’s membership, achieve a chapter best in moneys raised for advocacy, garner for the association both respect and presence at both the local and state level, and along with the chapter’s Executive Director Melinda Dailey help secure local contractor participation in Portland’s Combined Sewer Overflow Project and work with three other associations to form the Northwest College of Construction. Also active on the national level, he serves as one of NUCA’s regional vice presidents.
Dailey took home the 2005 award for Outstanding Leadership by a Chapter Executive Director.
New to the industry when she took the position four years ago, Dailey has proven to be a fast learner. She quickly learned the issues and moved to carry out the board’s plans for chapter expansion by helping the chapter grow by more than 50 percent.
She has been an articulate and persuasive advocate for the industry whether she is communicating with a senator about a national NUCA issue or a city commissioner about a local NUCA concern.
Among her accomplishments are lobbying for local contractor participation in Portland’s largest ever construction project, the Combined Sewer Overflow Project, and working with three other associations to form the Northwest College of Construction. Additionally, she has created a published directory of members and created an informative Web site.
NUCA of New Mexico has been awarded the association’s 2005 Chapter Award of Excellence in Educational Programming for its participation in a career fair called “School to World,” which was held at the Albuquerque Convention Hall in March 2005.
The 2,500 students who attended the event were drawn to the chapter’s display — a miniaturized construction site created with a grant from NUCA’s Foundation for Education and Research. In addition to taking the display to career fairs, the chapter makes it available for school presentations about the underground utility industry.
“We wanted students to ask us, ’What do you like best about your career’ or ’How do I learn to do that,’ rather than us asking students ’What do you want to do when you leave school’,” said Executive Director Linda McCoy.
The chapter also took home an Honorable Mention for Community Service.
Through its Hard Hat for Heroes fundraising campaign NUCA of New Mexico raised more than $73,000 for “Operation Home Front,” a non-profit organization that supports New Mexico national guardsmen and reservists called to active duty to support the war on terrorism. The organization does this by filling the financial gap between the average net monthly income and current net monthly pay of active status military salary for E-3 to E-6 active duty status domestic or overseas.
Because of the Hard Hats for Heroes campaign, Operation Home Front was assured of being able to fund the program for another year.
William H. Feather Award
Two companies in New Mexico won the association’s William H. Feather Award.
Created in 1978 to honor the contributions of the founding chairman of NUCA’s Safety Committee, the award recognizes NUCA member companies who put safety first. The winners are chosen on the basis of injury frequency data, a safety statement and company program information in seven categories established according to total man hours worked.
Cone Construction Co. of Albuquerque was selected the 2005 winner in the zero-to-50,000 man-hour category for a safety program that yielded only one disabling accident in 35,034 man hours worked from January 1 to December 31, 2005.
The six-and-a-half year-old company has a written safety program based on NUCA’s safety manual and a safety consultant that oversees it.
Five of Cone’s supervisors have attended an OSHA construction outreach program and six employees have attended NUCA training programs in excavation safety, competent person and confined space entry.
Cone’s safety program includes: mandatory safety training, weekly random safety inspections, weekly job site safety meetings, a SafetyFirst vehicle sticker program and incentives for meeting safety goals.
AUI Inc., also of Albuquerque, was chosen the 2005 Winner in the 500,001-to-1,000,000 man-hour category for a safety program that yielded only one disabling injury in 524,733 man hours worked from January 1 to December 31, 2005.
The 25-year-old company has a full-time safety director, written safety program, a Defensive Driving Program and a written fleet safety program.
All of the company’s 41 managers have attended an OSHA construction outreach program. On a 2005 project, AUI paid for all of its subcontractor’s project employees to attend the OSHA 10-hour class. AUI’s involvement in NUCA and NUCA of New Mexico keeps management up-to-date on best safety practices.
AUI established a Safety Incentive Program in 1993 to motivate employees to be personably accountable for safe work practices on all job sites. For safe hours worked, employees receive company hats, Leatherman tools, jackets, boots, etc.
Substantial incentives are offered for no lost-time accidents company-wide during a calendar year. AUI also sets aside $12,000 a year for monthly cash drawings for employees whose crews have had no accidents during the month and monetary awards for foremen whose crews have accumulated 1,500 crew hours worked without accidents.
(This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.cegltd.com.) CEG
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