Announcement from Safety Week Chair Scott Cassels
Construction Safety Week members, sponsors and industry participants:
It is with safety top of mind that we will be postponing our industry’s Safety Week until late summer/early fall. As the COVID-19 issue rapidly evolves and impacts our companies, the industry and many others globally, this decision was warranted. It truly is the safest “choice” we could make at this time.
At the core of our Safety Week mission is refocusing people’s attention on the fundamental, important things we do every day to work incident-free. To spread that message during Safety Week, we advocate that companies across our industry hold meetings and events with staff and craft the first week in May to communicate, celebrate and reinforce what matters most – the safety, health and well-being of the people who build the amazing projects we deliver. However, with the many concerns related to COVID-19 and large gatherings, it would be inappropriate to promote or recommend these types of events. Companies in our industry need to focus on the safety and security protocols that are best for their people and business continuity during this crisis. Safety Week is important, but there is time enough to bring our industry together once we have this serious issue controlled.
Although Safety Week is postponed, we will keep our website updated with pertinent safety information, training materials and best practices that can be used to keep operations safe. As an industry, we’ve improved our recordable frequency three-fold over the last decade because of this safety-first focus – and this is no time to lose that momentum. Let’s ensure we continue to improve by better planning safety into our operations, holding effective safety reviews and training with the men and women building our work, and supervising our operations with a keen eye on eliminating all risks and exposures that could cause an incident. Nobody gets hurt is an outcome we owe to everyone who works on and near our projects and for our companies.
Stay tuned for more detailed information about this postponement in the next few weeks. In the meantime, our best to you and your people during this challenging time.
Be safe and be well.
Scott Cassels
National Chairman of Safety Week
Executive Vice President, Kiewit Corporation