Safety. We take it seriously.
There are two things required for an effective safety program: caring enough to make it a priority, and knowing enough to make it a reality. At Feyen Zylstra, we qualify on both counts.
Safety is one of our five “Core Values.” From the very first day of work, at our new employee orientations, each Feyen Zylstra worker is trained in the importance of a safe workplace, and safe workplace procedures.
But as a knowledge-based company, we do more than “care.” We have implemented numerous tangible policies and activities that ensure the safety is more than a concept. They include:
- Regular Job-Site Inspections: a Feyen Zylstra manager performs a comprehensive 26-point inspection at each site, each month.
- "Daily Huddles" on the job site, at which the foreman and crew discuss safety expectations and procedures.
- A Safety Committee on which every Feyen Zylstra work group is represented, providing input that will impact company policy and discipline.
- A Written Safety Policy. This is distributed to not only each employee, but also each customer, so that every party knows what is expected of him or her, and what the consequences are for not following that policy.
- ALL FIELD EMPLOYEES are required to carry current CPR and First Aid Certifications
- Specialty Safety Training Courses are offered, and completed by employees based on the job function. These include training sessions dealing with work in confined spaces or on aerial platforms, and dealing with high voltage and energized circuits.
- A “Safety Pays” incentive program that provides reward coupons to employees who attend training and consistently exhibit safe behaviors. These coupons may be redeemed for tools or personal protective gear.
If safety is to be taken seriously, thorough documentation is critical. Extensive safety data is collected, compiled, and openly reported. These statistics are used to establish specific group goals and concrete performance measures for our employees.
Evidence of Feyen Zylstra's commitment to safety is the OSHA recordable incident rate and Experience Modification Ratio (EMR), both of which are well below (better than) the national standard. The company's most recent EMR is 0.53. The standard for the construction industry is 1.0. Any rating under that is an indication of a superior safety program.
In the past few years, our OSHA recordable incident rate and our EMR have shown steady improvement.
YEAR |
OSHA RATE |
EMR |
2008 |
3.2 |
0.54 |
2007 |
3.8 |
0.53 |
2006 |
5.11 |
0.75 |
2005 |
8.59 |
0.68 |
2004 |
2.59 |
0.58 |
2003 |
0.51 |
0.67 |
2002 |
0.86 |
0.5 |
2001 |
0.41 |
0.67 |
2000 |
1.06 |
0.58 |
1999 |
1.55 |
0.6 |
1998 |
0 |
0.66 |
1997 |
1.68 |
0.68 |
1996 |
1.06 |
0.69 |
1995 |
0 |
1 |
Safety Awards
Feyen Zylstra’s award winning safety program has earned Gold and Platinum safety awards—Platinum being the highest recognition in the Associated Builders and Contractors Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) program. In addition, Feyen Zylstra is also an ABC Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) in which safety is one of four key evaluation components considered in earning accreditation. The recognition is indicative of our ongoing, unwavering commitment to safety.
