Photo courtesy of AGC of California
First-place winners of the AGC of California’s Construction Safety Excellence Awards are shown with presenters during the Awards luncheon in Rancho Mirage. (L-R) are Chris Jones, 2022 AGC of California safety and?health chair; Brian Mello, AGC of California associate vice president, engagement, regulatory affairs; Brendan McFadden, BrightView Landscape; Rick Retiz, Clark Construction; Art Vasconcelos, Clark Construction (superintendent award); Kenneth Arceneaux, L.K. Comstock; Cole Davis, Nova Group; Bob Mahan, A-C Electric; Ryan Castillo, Myers &?Sons (high hazard award winner); Robert Montgomery, BNBuilders; and Dina Kimble, AGC of California president.
AGC of California recently recognized the best in safety in the California construction industry at the 35th annual Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA).
Held in conjunction with CONSTRUCT 2022, AGC of California's annual networking and professional development conference, in Rancho Mirage, the CSEA awards drew a crowd of several hundred construction executives, safety professionals and student chapter members to see leading California construction companies and individuals honored for safety excellence.
"In construction, we know that a successful project is a safe project," said Dina Kimble, 2022-23 president of AGC of California and president of Royal Electric Company. "Safety is the cornerstone of everything we do, every step of the way. As an industry, our goal first and foremost is that every employee returns home safely to their family. Together, AGC of California and member companies can play a vital role in elevating the conversation about the importance of safety. We want every person on every job site to feel supported both physically and emotionally."
Brian Mello, AGC of California associate vice president, engagement and regulatory affairs, helped moderate the awards luncheon along with Kimble, 2022 Safety & Health Council Chair Chris Jones, ACCO Engineered Systems; and AGC of California Safety & Regulatory Affairs Manager Tresten Keys. Justin Ross, national account manager of event sponsor Milwaukee Tool; and Adam Hobbs, vice president, global sales of sponsor HammerTech; also offered comments during the annual event.
Mello pointed out that the awards illustrate AGC of California's commitment to strengthening the professional standards of contractors' safety and health efforts across the state.
"Over the past two years, the Safety and Health Council has aligned its goals to the mission of AGC of California to shape policy, improve industry relationships and develop our workforce," Mello said. "I look forward to working alongside the Safety and Health Council as we work to lift up, support and buoy the industry for long term sustainable growth."
Mindful Leadership, Impact on Safety
Attendees heard a dynamic keynote address from Shaun Carvalho, chief safety officer of Shawmut Design and Construction. His presentation, "A Mindful Approach to Leadership," exemplifies the direction in which this industry and the safety and health council is moving — from compliance to a culture of care.
Keynote speaker Shaun Carvalho of Shawmut Design and Construction
Carvalho challenged listeners to think about what success looks like to them, to set goals that aim high and to recognize the impact of constant distractions and negative thinking that the average human experiences on a daily basis.
Thanks to the digital world and cell phones and other media, "we've been distracted as a human race more in the last 15 years than ever before," he noted. "Ninety-five percent of [safety] incidents can be traced back to a human factor. Are we creating an environment where [employees] can be their best?" Carvalho urged employers to share expectations and goals with employees and to "create a positive jobsite, built on empathy, communication and safety as the foundation."
Following the keynote address, AGC of California recognized the winners of the 2022 CSEA Awards, which honored their strong commitment to safe work practices over the past year.
AGC of California honored the following award winners:
CSEA Main Category/Worker Hours Building Division: 200,000–to-700,000 Worker Hours
1st place: BNBuilders
Finalist: Blach Construction
More Than 800,000 Worker Hours
1st place: Clark Construction
Finalist: Hensel Phelps
Heavy, Civil and Highway Division: 200,000–to-600,000 Worker Hours
1st place: Nova Group
Finalist: Myers & Sons Construction
Specialty Contractor Division: Under 400,000 Worker Hours
1st place: K. Comstock National Transit
Finalist: Pro-Craft Construction
600,000–to-2 Million Worker Hours
1st place: A-C Electric Company
Finalist: Solv Energy
More Than 2 Million Worker Hours
1st place: BrightView Landscape Development
Finalist: ACCO Engineered Systems
CSEA Specialized Awards Individual Safety Effort of Superintendent
Art Vasconcelos, Clark Construction.
Safety on a High Hazard Project
Myers & Sons Construction, "Paintersville and Mokelumne River Bridge Project"
For the first time, the presentation of the Harry Eckstein Safety Professional of the Year has been moved and will be presented at the AGC of California Installation & Awards Gala on Feb. 3, 2023, in San Francisco.
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