Every construction company will say that safety is one of their main priorities, and indeed, most companies truly do intend to do the right thing to protect their employees. An emphasis on safety is one of our core values as a company; this strong, clear focus on creating a safe working environment has allowed us to develop an industry-leading safety program.

The Benefits of Safety and the Cost of Accidents

To fully comprehend the importance of safety, it is necessary to have a understand the benefits of safety, as well as the cost of accidents. The construction industry is unfortunately one of the most dangerous sectors to work. It employs about 7% of the U.S. workforce, yet it accounts for nearly 20% of all work-related fatalities. In terms of hard numbers, nationwide, about 1,300 workers go home sick or injured and about 3 lives are lost, every day. Millions of dollars are spent on workers comp claims, product and equipment damage, and missed deadlines as a result of injuries in the workplace.

Just as there are a multitude of costs associated with poor safety, there also exists a many associated benefits for a construction company with a long history of no accidents. These benefits include: increased productivity, a happier, safer, and more comfortable work environment, a reduction in capital costs associated with insurance claims, equipment and material replacements, and an increase that goes along with a reputation for safe working conditions. Studies have shown that up to 96% of all hazards are created by unsafe human behavior, as opposed to inherently dangerous conditions. These unsafe practices are prime opportunities for improving the safety of work crews; this is precisely where Allco has focused its attention.

Training, Planning, and Monitoring

Allco has developed a company culture of safety values in order to further affect positive changes in human behavior. These values permeate every level of our company, from our top executives down to our individual workers. It begins with thorough training on how to safely use all equipment and how to create and maintain a safe work environment. Our goal is to train our employees to identify and neutralize hazards before they have the chance to cause accidents.

The next step is to make careful execution plans on every project. Effective planning is key in developing clear, well-articulated plans that take safety into account. Thorough planning prevents spur of the moment, reactionary decisions which may inadvertently cause accidents or create danger. We also carefully monitor our results so that we may capitalize on good safety practices and eliminate conditions that create risk. These practices create a systematic and harmonious routine that integrates safety into everything we do.

Safety Is an On-going Commitment

Even the best safety and training programs can crumble if they every team member does not make safety an on-going commitment. That is why Allco holds quarterly company safety conferences during which we can address and listen to any safety concerns, and handle any obstacles head on. Complementing these quarterly safety conferences are our weekly safety meetings. These safety meetings allow our employees and management the chance to voice concerns quickly and immediately so that they can be resolved before they lead to accidents. For Allco, safety isn’t just an upfront investment; it is an on-going commitment.

OSHA Compliant and Beyond

The foundation of our safety program is maintaining full compliance with all OSHA requirements and guidelines. We have a certified OSHA instructor on staff and we have 10 hour and 30 hour OSHA training levels for our personnel. We believe that being OSHA compliant is just beginning and we pair this with Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and site audits. The practices mentioned above have allowed us to go far beyond basic safety.

Very Low, Experience Modifier Rating

Thanks to our exemplary safety practices we have consistently logged over 2 million manhours worked without incident. This in turn has earned us a very low experience modifier rating. The experience modifier rating, or EMR, is the gold standard in the construction industry for evaluating the effectiveness of a company’s safety program. It compares the construction company’s worker compensation losses to the industry norm. Thus the lower the rating the better.

Our industry-leading safety program has allowed Allco to carve out a place for itself as one of the premier construction companies in Texas and Louisiana. We have completed over $1 billion in construction projects and we are proud to say that we have done so safely. Our unwavering dedication to safety makes us the smart, reliable choice for our customers.