Economy Not Slowing MICCS Awards Celebration
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 3:12PM Can the MICCS Awards Celebration be interpreted as an important statement about how the local market is responding to the most severe economic slowdown the construction industry has endured in our lifetimes?
Mark McGuire, Project Manager for Shiel Sexton and Chairman of the MICCS Awards Committee, offers that unique angle on what has become the premier annual event in the local construction scene.
“We all know that the economy has been struggling and that construction has been particularly hard-hit. Companies have had to make cutbacks, in some cases severe cutbacks, but Shiel is similar to most companies that support MICCS and the Celebration: we have refused to cut back on safety; it has remained a high priority.
“This year’s Awards Celebration, perhaps more than any other in the past, offers an opportunity to show our employees, workers, customers and the public that this industry has and will remain committed to the safety of everyone on the jobsite even through the most difficult of economic times.”
That McGuire often has such a “big picture” perspective was one reason he was named to Chair the Awards Committee three years ago, according to MICCS Executive Director Scott Grimes.
“With the Celebration now in its eighteenth year, it is increasingly important that it remain fresh and relevant in helping companies become ever better in the safety arena. Mark has been able to keep us ahead of the curve, always looking for ways to make the event continue to be a valuable service to the industry and our members,” said Grimes.
McGuire cites the committee’s efforts to revise the submission documents to make certain that they reflect current best practices as one of the most important recent accomplishments.
“When the competition first started, MICCS came up with questions that reflected that time period. Today, everyone has a drug program and a written safety program, for example. So, the questions have changed in recent years in that they assume that most, if not all MICCS-member companies have at least a basic, sound safety program. The questions today strive to determine whether it would be fair to characterize them as ‘world class.’”
Another improvement made during his tenure has been the inclusion of the residential building industry in the awards process. “The residential sector is as close to the hazards of construction as are the commercial and industrial sectors. As more are implementing great safety programs and giving workers the benefit of increased training and better resources to improve their safety, the leaders in that industry are realizing the side benefits of greater productivity and increased profit margins that comes along with safety improvements. That is important in every sector but even more critical in the housing sector, which has arguably been hit even harder than others by this economy.”
Each year during the evening’s program, the roughly 1,000 industry leaders in attendance are reminded of the men and women who died on construction accidents during the previous year. The names of those that have fallen are somberly read aloud. While a difficult moment for everyone, McGuire thinks it is a tradition that is important to keep.
“It reminds all of us in the most poignant fashion possible, of the reason that we are all in that hall that evening. MICCS and the Celebration are all about protecting our workers so that everyone on the jobsite returns home safely at the end of the day. We have not accomplished this goal and it is important for us to be reminded that we have much to do before we can claim true success.”
Asked what the primary benefit of the Celebration is to Shiel Sexton, McGuire cites the annual inventory of their safety program which is made necessary by MICCS’ submission questions. “This provides the opportunity for us to see our trends and to look within and ask what we did better this year than last. How have we improved our program? Of course, our Safety staff knows that this question is asked every year so they are very motivated to show substantive progress year in and year out.”
McGuire also believes that companies can and should listen to the reasons why their competitors may have won major awards and then seek to adopt their practices in a way that fits their own company. “The Safety Celebration is a way to showcase your best efforts in safety and everyone shares the same commitment. So, this is one area where this normally very competitive industry shares their secrets and helps others improve, too.”
The marketing benefits of participating are also clear, according to McGuire. “We have not only gotten new business from participating, but this event helps us maintain existing relationships, particularly those owners and contractors who view safety as a high priority. Our participation also gives a very strong message to the hundreds of fine subcontractors on our job sites. It reinforces to everyone that when you step onto a Shiel job, there will be measures in place to protect workers and everyone exposed to hazards on the project.
“And, as a very practical matter, there is no better place in our industry to network and reinforce existing relationships than in the ‘feel good’ atmosphere of this event.”
McGuire is completing his seventh year on the MICCS Awards Committee. That is seven years of monthly meetings, normally expanding to meeting every two weeks as the event approaches, as well as meetings away from the committee with various vendors and industry insiders. Why has he spent so much of his professional time on this committee?
“That’s easy,” said McGuire. “It is the one committee where no one on it is there to compete. We all have one goal and one cause. Whether you are sitting across from Wilhelm or Meyer Najem, we are there to find the best way to reward companies and people for their safety efforts. We don’t have to hold back as we sometimes have to for other causes because we are dealing with competitors. We are all on the same team on this committee.
“Through the years, people on this committee have taught me many great things. If, as professionals, we are always dealing only with construction, and we don’t take on other causes such as putting on a great event that inspires people to do better, then we would not be growing as people and as a professionals.”
And that coincidentally is what many believe the MICCS Safety Celebration is all about: to inspire the industry, by rewarding the best of the best, to reach beyond their current practices in construction safety and to adopt a process of constant improvement in this critical area.
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