Local 500 (Salem, Ore.) BM-ST Darin McCarthy accepts the national NACBE safety award. Joining in the presentation are, l. to r., NACBE Exec. Dir. John Erickson, IVP J. Tom Baca, McCarthy, and IP Newton Jones.
Lost-time injury rate dips to lowest figure ever: 0.39
INJURY RATES FOR field construction Boilermakers continued to trend lower in 2009, according to John Erickson, executive director of the National Association of Construction Boilermaker Employers (NACBE), who presented his findings during the annual construction conference at Marco Island, Fla., March 4. One of the key safety indicators, the lost-time injury rate, dipped to 0.39, the lowest figure ever recorded by NACBE since it began a safety index in 1990.
Erickson joined with Boilermaker International officers in recognizing the top-performing locals from four U.S. vice-presidential areas. Local 500 (Salem, Ore.), from the Western States area, won the national honors. L-500 BM-ST Darin McCarthy accepted the award. L-500 was among 38 lodges with a zero lost-time injury rate and 12 lodges with zero compensable injuries.
Three other lodges finished first in their areas: Local 108 (Birmingham, Ala.) — Southeast; Local 193 (Baltimore) — Northeast; and Local 744 (Cleveland) — Great Lakes.
In situations where multiple lodges have perfect safety records, NACBE uses the total man-hours worked by contractors participating in the index to determine the national and area winners.
“Once again, it was a very close competition,” Erickson said. “An outstanding job was done by all of your members.”
In addition to the all-time-low rate of 0.39 for lost-time injuries, Erickson reported that the compensable-injury rate (all injuries, lost time or not) dropped to 7.16 in 2009, down from 9.49 in 2008, while OSHA-recordable injuries dipped to 2.48, down from 3.23 in 2008.
More than 50 Boilermaker contractors participate in the NACBE safety index.
