The safety plan implemented for the 279,000-sq-ft, six-story Banner Estrella hospital tower in Phoenix by McCarthy Building Cos. not only established new safety standards that are now used on all of the firm’s projects, but also contributed to zero lost-time injuries and a recordable incident rate of 0.47 during more than 850,000 worker hours.
"Each McCarthy jobsite has a site-specific safety plan, and it is not that we do it and review once a year. It is taken seriously and adjusted constantly," says Chris Nickle, McCarthy of Arizona safety director.
Nickle says one of the most effective McCarthy policies at reducing lost-time incidents—100% glove use, including visitors—is now mandatory on all of the company's projects because of its success at this site.
Some examples of site-specific safety training include rigging and hand-signal training to supplement the onsite tower crane, as well as scissor-lift and forklift training that emphasize proper tie-off points. Nearly 400 workers were on site at the peak of the project. The contractor augmented safety training with an average of 50 onsite safety meetings per week, strict enforcement of McCarthy's Task Hazard Analysis program and site-specific protocols.
Submitted by McCarthy Building Cos.
Owner Banner Health
Architect SmithGroupJJR
General Contractor McCarthy Building Cos.
Engineers PK Associates; Littlejohn Engineering Associates; SmithGroupJJR
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