CHICAGO, IL – “A positive safety culture begins with senior management and must be communicated to employees on a daily basis.”
Mark Rook, Safety director at AMS Mechanical Systems, Inc. knows what he’s talking about when it comes to safety. Located in Burr Ridge, AMS recently won the Chicago Mechanical Contractors Association award for 1,000,000 – 3,000,000 hours with the lowest recordable OSHA rate of .76.
According to Rook, safety must go beyond mere practices and procedures. It must be built to a company-wide culture of safety. Safety is integrated into day-to-day work, not treated as something separate at AMS. “There are three key factors to developing an incident-free work environment. It’s imperative to have a commitment from senior management. There must be a safety program in place. And employees must understand why safety rules are in place and practice them BEFORE they need to use them. Our employees practice safety principles 24/7 – not just on the jobsite.”
Rook feels that communication is the key. Together, the AMS safety management team works with insurance providers, project managers and teams of key field personnel to compile their own comprehensive “Zero Accident Program” that encompasses several points of identifying, analyzing and aligning safety behaviors:
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Development and distribution of all safety procedures |
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Continuing education and training for all AMS key field personnel and project managers |
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Site specific safety plans |
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Safety incentive programs |
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Development implementation of tool box talks |
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Pre-job and pre task safety analysis |
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Jobsite safety audits |
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Workman’s compensation and G/L claims management |
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Near accident programs |
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Accident and incident investigations programs |
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Corrective Actions and Lessons Learned programs |
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New hire training and orientation |
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Drug and alcohol testing |
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That approach to safety is the reason why AMS Mechanical has an incident rate 50-60% below the national average and has consistently received awards from associations like MCA Chicago for their safety performance.
“It is an honor to be recognized by MCA Chicago, an achievement that speaks volumes about our culture of safety at AMS,” said John Berzanskis, President and CEO. “We take safety seriously and communicate our safety philosophy to employees in a variety of ways. We’re fortunate to have a staff and workforce that embraces the culture, and live it in their daily work.”
AMS
AMS Mechanical Systems, Inc. is a privately owned, full service mechanical contracting firm, providing excellence in mechanical contracting services to a wide range of commercial, industrial and institutional clients throughout the Midwest Region since 1963. The company employs 5,000 men and women in the Chicagoland area. www.ams-pmt.com
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