As many contractor members continue to struggle with how to address safety in the workplace, ABC of Southeastern Michigan (ABC SEMI) embarks on a new safety training program unlike any other in the state of Michigan. Providing members a full array of safety training and onsite services for their projects and workforce.
As part of its effort to improve safety, ABC SEMI recently sent both Vice President, Mickey Mortimer, and new Safety Director, Kim Gamet, to receive their OSHA 500 and 510 certifications. Some of the safety services that are being offered by ABC SEMI are, but not limited to:
- First Aid/CPR/AED
- Written Safety Programs
- JSA/JHA
- HAZCOM/Right to Know
- Ladder Safety
- Silica Standard
- Safety Meeting Outlines
- Toolbox Talks
- OSHA 10 & 30
- Confined Spaces
- Lockout/Tagout
- Safety Training
- Site Audits
- Accident/Incident Investigation Training
Gamet will be overseeing ABC’s Safety Program and is very encouraged by the interest many members have already shown. She credits the association for having a solid safety culture in place through its ABC STEP program and is eager to expand on the safety education and services our membership needs to compete and succeed safely.
“I have been pleasantly surprised by the reception I have gotten from many of our members about the efforts we are making to address safety in the workforce,” said Gamet. “So many have expressed the need but lacked the expertise or manpower to maintain a credible safety program at their company. I look forward to providing them the ability to make sure each and every one of their employees goes home safe each night.”
According to ABC SEMI President and CEO Keith Ledbetter, it is an idea that was born from Board Chairman Robert Clancy’s concern that the chapter was not doing enough to address the rising concern for safety of its contractor members during a recent board planning session.
“It is not a matter of ‘if’ you have a safety program in place—it is a ‘must’ in most competitive bid processes.”
“Robert was instrumental in moving this issue from the back burner and to the top of our list of goals for the coming year,” Ledbetter said. “He has pushed for safety in his own company and monitored trends in safety in the construction industry enough to realize that contractors that do not address this issue in a meaningful way would be left on the outside looking in on many project bids.”
Clancy, who operates a successful site preparation company, has seen firsthand customers insistence that contractors who work on their jobs have an aggressive safety plan in place. It is what led him to sign up for ABC’s STEP program and hire an in-house manager to oversee Robert Clancy Contracting, Inc. safety programs.
“It is not a matter of ‘if’ you have a safety program in place—it is a ‘must’ in most competitive bid processes,” said Clancy. “It is also essential in setting a culture of safety in your organization and sends a message to your employees that their safety matters and is the most important thing. We have all witnessed accidents on the job site and deep down knew they could have been avoided—I want to make sure at ABC we are giving our members the tools to do just that and ensure their employees go home to their families safe each day. It is a commitment we don’t take lightly.”
