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
| Nov 17, 2014
Mastering natural ventilation: 5 crucial lessons from design experts
By harnessing natural ventilation, Building Teams can achieve a tremendous reduction in energy use and increase in occupant comfort. Engineers from SOM offer lessons from the firm’s recent work.
| Nov 14, 2014
Bjarke Ingels unveils master plan for Smithsonian's south mall campus
The centerpiece of the proposed plan is the revitalization of the iconic Smithsonian castle.
| Nov 14, 2014
Haskell acquires FreemanWhite, strengthens healthcare design-build business
The combination expands Haskell’s geographic presence by adding FreemanWhite’s offices in Chicago, Charlotte, Nashville, and San Diego. FreemanWhite will retain its name and brand.
| Nov 14, 2014
What college students want in their living spaces
In a recent workshop with 62 college students, architects from Little explored the changing habits and preferences of today's students, and how those changes affect their living spaces.
| Nov 14, 2014
JetBlue opens Gensler-designed International Concourse at JFK
The 175,000-sf extension includes the conversion of three existing gates to international swing gates, and the addition of three new international swing gates.
Sponsored | | Nov 12, 2014
Eye-popping façade highlights renovation, addition at Chaffin Junior High School
The new distinctive main entrance accentuates the public face of the school with an aluminum tube “baguette” system.
| Nov 12, 2014
Collaboration as competitive advantage
A collaborative planning and design process may seem like a common-sense goal, but the concept can be a challenge to achieve in the fragmented AEC industry. SPONSORED BLOG
Sponsored | | Nov 12, 2014
Williams Scotsman plugs into the jobsite
Many of our customers conduct important business from their temporary modular jobsite office and most require access to technology to get their job done effectively and efficiently. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Nov 12, 2014
Chesapeake Bay Foundation completes uber-green Brock Environmental Center, targets Living Building certification
More than a decade after opening its groundbreaking Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the group is back at it with a structure designed to be net-zero water, net-zero energy, and net-zero waste.
| Nov 12, 2014
Refocusing the shifted line
A recent trend in the practice of architecture that I’ve been noticing is the blurring of responsibility between design and construction coordination. I’m not sure why this trend began, but the subject is worth exploring, writes FXFOWLE's Mark Nusbaum.
