We at Lee Electrical Service, Inc. consider safety as the primary component to a profitable business.

It is no secret as injuries occur, so does a decline in a company’s reputation and profit margin. A safe workforce means a happy and productive workforce. We expend great energy and resources to the maintenance of safe worksites and the results have been very satisfying as our Experience Modifier Rate has remained substantially below 1.0.

The reason partnership we enjoy with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has played an integral part to this success, for without a well-trained and educated workforce, our efforts in safety awareness and job hazard analysis would be extremely difficult to implement and maintain. The electrical journeyman is the most educated and intelligent of all workers in the construction industry. Coupled with the high quality of instruction and supervision hat was afforded by the IBEW Apprenticeship Program, we are fortunate to have such a high caliber portion of the population from which to draw upon.

Never content to maintain a policy without striving to improve, efforts are continual with regards to the implementation of current safe work practices and the ever-changing increasing accessibility to information which affords us the means to improve an already successful program.

Being a small, successful subcontractor enables us to work with some of the largest general contractors and customers in Alabama. What impact this has upon our Safety Program is that we are exposed to a higher level of sophistication regarding methods and philosophies, thus we are able to incorporate some of the leading edge techniques and procedures of our clients into our own safety and health policies. In essence, by working within the framework of a successful program, we are able to improve our own Safety Program.

Management Accountability and Commitment

All supervisory personnel are held accountable for the safety performance of the workforce under their direct control. Performance data is tabulated and transmitted to these individuals on a monthly basis. Safety performance is allocated the same priority as financial profit and loss, as they are inextricably related.

Written Safety and Health Programs

Any evaluation of our Safety Program must begin with our Safety Manual titled, Project Safety, Hazard Communication and Substance Abuse Manual, Developed in 1990, it has been substantially revised in 1994, 1997, 2003, 2006, 2007 and is in continual revision, as regulations and practices change.

Orientation of New Employees

One of the most critical of challenges for all contractors is the incorporation of new-hires into the safety and health philosophy of the company. At Lee Electrical Service, we continually emphasize the inherent responsibility to work safely. By targeting human values, we strive to raise the awareness level necessary for our employees to develop and maintain the proper mindset for safe work habits. Through such mediums as new-hire orientations, periodic training sessions, in-house gang box meeting  and weekly and monthly safety talks, we constantly emphasize safe behavior and personal accountability.

Site Safety Meetings

Safety meetings are held on each jobsite every Monday morning at 7:00 AM. Conducted by the site superintendent or designee, all subjects are derived from a booklet specifically assembled in-house for this purpose. Any site specific safety requirements are emphasized at this time. In addition, we hold quarterly Safety Training Meetings at our Home and Branch Offices for all employees in the immediate area and specific on-site training as required.

Disciplinary Action for Unsafe Work Practices

No Safety Management Program can be effective without disciplinary action for unsafe work practices. We have attempted to mirror OSHA in this regard by categorizing minor and life-threatening safety infractions, and tailoring the punishment to the violation.

Minor infractions (such as no or improper PPE, etc) are punishable by the following:

1. First Offense – Written warning
2. Second Offense – One week suspension
3. Third Offense – Termination

Major or leading-hazard type violations (such as violations of fall protection, excavation, confined space, lock-out / tag-out/energized work, ladders and scaffolds) are punishable by immediate termination.

Our supervision is not excluded from this policy. Effective supervision plays a vital role in the overall safety of our projects; therefore if the investigation into a violation of compliance shows that the supervisor was delinquent in his/her duties, they would in turn receive discipline under the same provisions.

Safe Work Permit Systems for Hazardous Area/Work and Confined Spaces

Miller Electric recognizes that one of the primary tools of both proof of compliance and instilling a sense of awareness regarding an impending task, is the use of permits and checklists. For this reason, we have developed a Permitting System for work on energized equipment. Too often people in our industry readily accept the risks associated with working on energized equipment. It may have been considered a regular part of our scope of work, but not any longer. By the utilizing these forms, we have sought to raise the awareness level of the substantial hazards involved, within the customer and facilities manager, as well as our own workforce.

By including the customer in the sign-off process for working energized equipment, we have discovered that what equipment was previously described as unable to be de-energized can now be scheduled for shut-down.

Incident Reporting/ Accident Investigation and Maintenance of Accident Statistics

Incident reporting and accident investigation are functions critical to those of supervisor accountability. By targeting the source of the accident or near-miss (source is defined as an attitude, individual, process or event) remedial efforts at reducing the prospect of a repeat is greatly enhanced. In addition, by requiring the signature of all levels of supervision (up to and including project management), supervisory personnel are acutely aware of their accountability to the maintenance of a safe work site.

Program for Monitoring Subcontractor Safety Program

As we are a subcontractor, our use of other subcontractors is very limited. However, in those rare occasions where we utilize other subcontractors, we contractually require these contractors to follow the same rules, regulations and policies dictated by our Safety Program.

Core Values

Last but certainly not least we have the core values which form the foundation on which we should perform our work and conduct ourselves. Core values are not descriptions of the work we do or the strategies we employ to accomplish our mission. Core values are the basic elements of how we go about our work and the practices we use every day in everything we do. These values, unlike priorities, remain constant and are never changing because at the end of the day, everyone goes home.

• INJURIES

  • Any accident is a failure of the safety program; therefore the only meaningful goal is zero.

• SAFETY CULTURE

  • We shall sustain a workplace where it is ingrained that safety is essential to our daily operations.

• RISK MANAGEMENT

  • We will only attempt activities that we can perform without injuring people or damaging property.

• COMPLIANCE

  • Safety & Health compliance is everyone’s responsibility and a condition of employment.

• LEADERSHIP

  • Management will be involved in the safety program at all levels within Lee Electric Service. All supervisors shall lead by direct example and through appropriate decision making.

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