Lynn Barr Exemplary Safety Performance   This issue of the CONNECTION is dedicated to my favorite subject at Underground, SAFETY. Over the years, the Company has received numerous awards and recognition from the Construction Industry for exemplary safety performance by our employees and subcontractors. Our efforts have been directed toward the personal safety of each employee on a daily basis. The emphasis has been on training, use of Personal Protective Equipment and hazard analysis. The Company has had a dedicated Safety Manager for over 30 years. Today we have two full time Safety supervisors in the field. Art DeLeon and Cleo Nelson visit Underground jobs on a daily basis. They have made a big impact on our Safety Performance. Pat Darnell, who manages our Safety effort, reports that our Company has half as many work related incidents as our competition. She is making a push to bring that number down even more. Muzette Perry administers claims, when they do occur, and has had great success identifying inflated and fraudulent actions. She is an untiring advocate for the Company, appearing often in court and assisting our legal counsel. Rick Shone, a Registered Professional Engineer, provides technical expertise to assure safe operations when an engineering solution is required. As you can see, our safety commitment is extensive and sophisticated. However, our first line of defense is each employee, every day. We are working hard to bring the message to each of them. Our bilingual publications really help. We recently recognized 174 drivers of Company vehicles for perfect driving records. This represents about 4,175,000 miles driven in 2000-2001. Twenty-four of these drivers have had no incidents in ten years, and four have gone the entire 24 years that this program has been in place. Congratulations to all. Our Golden Trench Jack Award this year went to Superintendent, George Castro. George's team handles communications projects in the Bay Area, and they worked nearly 62,000 hours without a "recordable" incident. Hats off to them! George took a trip to Hawaii as his prize. We also recognized 40 Supervisors with cash awards for superior performance. Our SAFE DRIVING, GOLDEN TRENCH JACK and SAFETY POINT programs engage each employee in the process. I thank each and every Undergrounder who has helped make the Company one of the safest places to work in Construction. Back to Top of Page