Daily Journal of Commerce

Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction has completed 1 million work hours without a job-related illness or injury. The Bellevue-based regional office hasn't had an injury all year.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2009 — the last full year reported — there were about 288,000 non-fatal construction-related injuries in the U.S., or 4.3 recordable incidents per 100 full-time workers. A recordable incident is a work-related illness or any injury which results in loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, transfer to another job, or requires medical treatment beyond first aid including therapy appointments or filling prescriptions.

Emmitt Nelson, safety committee chairman for the National Academy of Construction, said in a press release it is rare for a company to have 1 million injury-free work hours. “There have been only 20 other known occasions in the past 20 years where this has happened in the construction industry.”

Mortenson credits the achievement to its Zero Injury Safety Program, which is designed to eliminate worker injuries across all project sites and locations. More than 2,100 Mortenson team members working on 158 projects across North America have been injury-free.

John Nowoj, vice president of operations for the Bellevue office, said Mortenson's intense focus on safety began in 1995 when then-president Mort Mortenson decided injuries were no longer acceptable and the company would strive to eliminate them.

For safety to become such a strong priority, Nowoj said it was critical for the focus to come from the top of the company. At Mortenson, he said safety is a requirement, not a value that can be shifted around and re-prioritized.

In 2010, the Bellevue office had two recordable incidents: one at the beginning of the year and one at the end. Both were work-related prescriptions.

In addition to protecting workers, the strong focus on safety is good for the bottom line. Less work-related incidents translates to less money spent on health care, less time trying to replace injured employees and more efficient work.

One of the big challenges has been creating a cultural shift in the construction industry. It takes constant energy, Nowoj said, to get people to realize that injuries are avoidable with sound planning and execution. “There's only one goal and that is zero. We're pushing really hard to go day-by-day, month-by-month and put the whole year in with zero recordables.”

Mortenson's Zero Injury Safety Program, introduced in 1995, was one of the first in the industry. It outlines nine principles of injury prevention: pre-task planning; orientation and training; substance testing; incident investigation; reward and recognition; management commitment; staffing for safety; subcontractor management; and worker involvement.

But Nowoj said the key is continuous improvement. To encourage growth, various groups in the business take on projects, explore them and bring lessons learned to the national audience. Four years ago, the Bellevue office spearheaded Mortenson's Worker to Worker Program, which trains craftworkers to observe the operations and tasks of other subcontractors.

Nowoj said the program starts to break down barriers between subcontracting groups by getting them talking to one another. It gives workers a greater awareness and understanding of different safety elements and what's happening around them. For example, workers learn how to approach different subcontractors. They also learn how to document and report things seen so corrective actions can be taken.

Nowoj said the focus on safety isn't only about workers looking out for themselves. He said Mortenson empowers and obligates workers to look out for one another. “It's all to improve the environment for all that are working,” he said. “It's the opportunity to get the workforce to lift their head ... and look around on a very busy job site.”

Mortenson encourages its subcontractors and owners to learn from its programs, and make similar changes in their own processes. Overall, Nowoj said the goal of the company's safety effort is to convince all contractors injuries don't have to happen if they put the right steps in place.

Mortenson has held in-house injury workshops for years. Two years ago, it started holding workshops for subcontractors. Workshops are held at multiple points throughout a project, so subs that come in at different points can give safety feedback and learn about safety tools.

Mortenson has a national computer database that tracks “near misses” or hazard recognitions. The database documents when a problem is recognized, such as a missing guardrail, shows what corrective actions are taken, and when the incident is closed. It's helpful, Nowoj said, because he might see something in Chicago or Minneapolis that might jog his memory or get him thinking about similar local concerns.

Mortenson was founded in 1954. It has offices in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Seattle, with international operations in Canada and China.