Vogtle Units 1-4 ©Georgia Power Company. All rights reserved.
Owner, contractor applaud 53 million man-hours without lost-time injury
FIFTY-THREE MILLION MAN-HOURS without a single lost-time injury is impressive — even more so on a massive, nuclear construction job. Southern Nuclear Company CEO and President Steve Kuczynski along with Bechtel Site Director Ty Troutman announced that major safety milestone at Vogtle Units 3 & 4 in southeast Georgia in July.
“That’s more than three years without a colleague losing a day of work because of a work-related injury,” they wrote, in an internal communication. “For any construction project, especially a complex and demanding one like ours, this milestone is worthy of celebrating. We continue to add safe work hours and improve upon our safety culture with each passing week, illustrating that zero injuries is possible.”
More than 6,000 union craft workers, including 500 Boilermakers from Local 26 (Savannah, Georgia) and other lodges, have worked at the site, constructing the first new nuclear units to be built in the United States in 30 years.
“The safety achievement there is remarkable,” says IVP-SE Warren Fairley. “All the union crafts and union contractors onsite — and the owner — can be extremely proud of this.
“It’s a tribute to the effectiveness of the Boilermakers MOST safety training, the other trades’ safety programs, and the safety culture instilled by Southern Nuclear Company and the signatory contractors represented at Vogtle.”
L-26 BM-ST Johnathon Bates praised the Boilermakers working at Plant Vogtle, noting: “A major job like this — where you’re working at heights, around extremely heavy lifts, moving equipment and other potential hazards — requires constant safety awareness and adherence to safety policies and practices. Our members have certainly done their part to contribute to this impressive safety milestone.”
