Stellar, an architecture, engineering, construction and mechanical services firm, has earned the Associated Builders and Contractors' (ABC) highest national safety designation for 2011-the Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) Diamond-level award. Stellar was the only contractor in the Florida First Coast Chapter (with more than 140 member companies), and one of only four in Florida, to earn Diamond status.
There are six levels of STEP achievement: Participant, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Member companies that achieve Diamond status-a new level established just last year-are an elite group. More than 2,100 ABC contractor members applied for the STEP program in 2011, with just 94 members achieving STEP Diamond status.
"Our most important goal is to send our employees and subcontractors home safe to their families, every day," said Philip Hinrichs, Stellar's Vice President of Risk Management. "That's why we develop a job-specific safety plan for each and every project and perform safety audits on a regular basis. We're proud to see these efforts recognized."
Stellar has achieved STEP certification 16 years in a row. Now widely accepted as the construction industry's standard measure of safety performance, the STEP awards were established in 1989 to evaluate and improve safety practices and recognize outstanding safety efforts. The award criteria include two industry benchmarks-the experience modification rate (EMR), which is applied to workers' compensation premiums, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) recordable injury and illness incidence rates (measured by the number of incidents per 100 employees per year).
STEP Diamond recipients must have long-term records of exceptional safety performance, with EMRs at or below 0.7 (a significantly lower rate than the national average of 1.0) and average incidence rates at least 50 percent below construction industry averages. EMRs, developed by the insurance industry, are based on comparisons of firms doing similar types of work. Lower rates, meaning that fewer or less-severe accidents occurred, result in lower insurance costs. BD+C
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
AIA selects seven winners of healthcare building design award
The National Healthcare Design Awards recognizes functional hospital projects that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns. Recipients were selected in three categories this year.
Industrial Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
Snøhetta, Bjarke Ingels among four finalists for S.Pellegrino bottling plant design
A committee will evaluate proposals in September.
Architects | Jul 22, 2016
5 creative approaches to finish standards
With the right mindset, standards can produce great design for healthcare facilities, as VOA's Candace Small explores.
Retail Centers | Jul 21, 2016
MVRDV designs Seoul entertainment district with gold entrance and curtain façade
The 9,800-sm complex will have retail and nightclub space. A plaza separates the two concrete buildings.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 20, 2016
Process mapping simplifies healthcare design
Charting procedures and highlighting improvement opportunities can lead to developing effective design strategy simulations. GS&P’s Ray Wong writes that process mapping adds value to a project and bolsters team and stakeholder collaboration.
Architects | Jul 20, 2016
AIA: Architecture Billings Index remains on solid footing
The June ABI score was down from May, but the figure was positive for the fifth consecutive month.
| Jul 19, 2016
2016 GIANTS 300 REPORT: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now in its 40th year, BD+C’s annual Giants 300 report ranks AEC firms by discipline and across more than 20 building sectors and specialty services.
Architects | Jul 18, 2016
17 buildings designed by Le Corbusier added to UNESCO World Heritage List
The sites are spread across seven counties and were built over the course of 50 years. Le Corbusier, an architect, designer, and urban planner, was a founder of modern architecture.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 18, 2016
Four residential projects named winners of the 2016 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards
Affordable housing, specialized housing, and accessible housing projects were honored.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 18, 2016
Turner and AECOM will build the Los Angeles Rams’ new multi-billion dollar stadium project
The 70,000-seat stadium will be ready by the 2019 NFL season. The surrounding mixed-use development includes space for retail, hotels, and public parks.
