Safety

The Aldridge Safety Mission
Aldridge Electric maintains a continuous commitment to our Safety Mission – our ultimate goal is nothing less than zero accidents and injuries and to send every employee home to their families safely each work day. This commitment is embodied in every employee and endorsed at every level of the company, and has resulted in numerous safety awards and a safety record that far surpasses industry standards.

How We Achieve Our Mission
Aldridge Electric utilizes a comprehensive health and safety program that highlights training, communication, and awareness.  Safety program highlights include:

• Safety Training – An effective training program can reduce the number of injuries, property damage, legal liability, illnesses, workers’ compensation claims, and missed time from work.  Safety training classes help establish a safety culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. Each member of the Aldridge field labor and project management staff receive a minimum of 16 hours of division-specific safety and equipment operations training. Taught by an OSHA-certified Safety Trainer, curriculum includes topics such as fall protection, excavation safety, CPR, first aid, confined space, traffic control and protection, defensive driving, and personal protective equipment. Training records are maintained in a database and hard hat stickers are used to communicate certifications on the jobsite.

• Jobsite Audits – The jobsite safety audit is a critical tool for keeping our projects safe and accident free. The daily process, which identifies and then corrects or removes work site hazards, is carried out by the Safety Engineer every time he/she arrives on an Aldridge Electric project. The audits are documented within a database and reviewed by the Safety Committee. By performing trend analysis on the information collected, the committee can be more proactive in keeping personnel safe.

• Safety Communication – If we want to accomplish excellence in safety, communication of the safety message must be organized, planned and carried out in an effective manner. Our safety team utilizes a number of methods of communication, including distribution of a monthly safety flyer, visible posting of our safety message in and around our offices and jobsites, and Monthly Safety Meetings. The Aldridge Electric Safety Committee is comprised of the CEO, President, Senior Leadership and Superintendents and meets monthly to review incidents and create action plans. The committee develops and reviews existing and new policies and procedures for the company’s safety program.

• Safety Department Staff – To ensure on-the-job safety, Aldridge Electric employs a full-time safety department led by the Director of Occupational Safety & Health who supervises a full-time OSHA-certified Safety Trainer, nine Safety Engineers and one Administrator.  Safety Engineers are assigned to operating divisions and typically oversee safety compliance for twenty to forty field employees.

• Unique Safety Programs
• Daily Task Analysis – As part of a companywide initiative, it is required that each field crew perform a daily field safety meeting. Daily work plans are established and safety risks are identified and mitigated.  Should a crew deviate from planned activity, the Daily Task Analysis (DTA) must be updated with full crew participation. The DTA must be reviewed a minimum of two times during any given shift.
• Electrical Safe Work Procedures – The Method of Procedure (MOP) is a safety planning tool specifically for projects involving live electricity. Before starting a procedure, a supervisor documents every planned step – identifying personnel, listing equipment that will be used, and describing all work phases and associated risks.  Additionally, the supervisor must outline a back-out plan, which provides workers detailed steps for stopping a procedure if unexpected problems or changes are encountered.
• Safety Person of the Month (SPOM) - In the Safety Person of the Month program, a designated Aldridge executive ventures out to audit current projects and note potential safety issues. The intent of the program is to educate everyone involved in accident prevention, as well as promoting safety awareness on the project. The executive presents his findings to the Aldridge Safety Committee, and corrective actions, from new safety policies to new training programs, are implemented company-wide.

The Results of our Safety Mission
Aldridge Electric has received numerous awards from industry and governmental agencies in recognition of our safety performance, highlighted in the ABOUT section of our website. In 2009, we logged more than 1.3 million man-hours and maintained an Experienced Modification Rate (EMR) well below the industry average (1.0).

Our focus remains to be employee training, auditing of jobsites, communicating safety incidents to employees, managing injuries, and developing new safety programs. Success in these areas will allow us to continue to be an industry leader in safety.

For More Information Contact:

O’Brien Mills
Director of Occupational Safety & Health
Corporate Phone: 847-680-5200
Direct Line: 847-247-5240
omills@aldridge-electric.com