It is the policy of Contour Construction to meet its safety and health responsibilities and to continuously strive to maintain a safe working environment at all project locations.
Contour creates an individualized site safety plan for every job site, without exception, incorporating not just OSHA and state safety regulations, but accident prevention measures culled from our team's extensive field experience. During the construction season, weekly "toolbox" meetings are held where every member of the Contour team discusses potential hazards and how to maintain a safe worksite at all times.
The site safety plan also includes planned responses to help employees at the site quickly and completely respond to any situation that might arise. Plans are kept on-site at all times in the company's job trailer, for easy and immediate reference.
In February, 2002 the Lancaster Companies (Lancaster Development, Contour Construction, Tri-City Highway Products and MAG Enterprises) formed an Employee Safety and Health Committee to ensure that everyone takes responsibility for safety. The goal of this employee driven committee is to look for ways to improve safety from the "bottom up". The mandate to the committee is to "find out what is being done in an unsafe manner and fix it". To assist the committee in getting up and running the Area Director from OSHA and New York State Department of Transportation Safety Officer were invited to our first meeting along with representatives from our insurance company.
The committee consists of members representing all of the Lancaster Companies assuring that all facets of our work are covered. Meetings are held monthly and members are asked to sit on the committee for a two year period. Problems that may arise in the workplace concerning safety and health are placed on the agenda and discussed amongst the members to find a viable solution. The solution is then in turn passed on to management for resources and to implement the plan.
These are just a few examples of what the committee has accomplished to date.
Problem: Work area on M&P truck very slippery when damp or wet.
Solution: A three foot area along the back and side of the truck was treated with an abrasive coating.
Problem: Securing the tarps covering loads on our tri-axles created a situation that increased the likelihood of slips, trips and falls.
Solution: A cable system was developed along the side of the truck so the driver could secure the tarps from the ground.
Problem: Loss of eye contact with ground man working with the milling machine.
Solution: Hearing protection with voice activated communication was purchased so the operator and ground man have constant communication with one another.
Problem: Unsafe support for raised truck boxes being worked on in the shop.
Solution: To supplement the factory supplied support rod, MAG obtained triangulated blocks that hook on to the truck frame providing additional support to the raised truck box.