Dr. Huang’s Safety Climate Lab is proud to congratulate Whitaker/Ellis Builders, Inc. on winning 1st place in the AGC National 2022 Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA)! This important recognition for Specialty Contractors (with under 500k hours a year) is very well deserved. Whitaker/Ellis is the first organization the Safety Climate Lab was fortunate to work with when first established in 2019 within the Institute. Collaborative projects have continued to be valuable for both Whitaker/Ellis and the Safety Climate Lab since then.
As an early partner and supporter of the Safety Climate lab, Whitaker/Ellis was one of the first construction companies in Oregon to seek out and utilize the validated safety climate scale. This early safety climate assessment and accompanying leadership workshop established a strong foundation for the scientist-practitioner partnership.
The leadership team and safety professionals of Whitaker/Ellis participated in a collaborative feedback workshop to review the assessment findings and insights into their current safety climate with the Lab. They were also provided a comprehensive report assessing the customized survey measures at the organization and group/supervisor levels with demographic insights and breakdowns where appropriate.
In reflecting on the collaboration, Bill Ellis the President of Whitaker/Ellis Builders, Inc. said, “We appreciate the information and presentation. I can see how your team makes significant impacts for workplace safety.” Randy Johnson the Safety Director mentioned, “This has been the perfect process and opportunity to engage with our workers in the field, as we continue to strive towards sustained excellence.” The entire team at W/E can see the value of safety climate assessment in their company through new knowledge and an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
Throughout this partnership, the Safety Climate Lab appreciates the research-to-practice (R2P) quality of the scientist-practitioner partnership with Whitaker/Ellis. The Lab provided scientific insights to Whitaker/Ellis on their current safety climate score and the Whitaker/Ellis team continually lends their occupational safety and health expertise to help inform and advance potential impacts of the research conducted by the Lab. This ensures that the lab is supporting the construction industry in the most effective way possible.
The Huang Lab is continually impressed by the advanced safety efforts Whitaker/Ellis utilizes. From their Red Vest program to their innovative use of technology to deliver safety education and toolbox talk materials; they are a model of safety climate and culture. Additionally, at the leadership level of each individual in the field, the organization exemplifies what it means to prioritize safety as a core value throughout their workforce.
Whitaker/Ellis has demonstrated continued excellence in the occupational safety and health field by lowering its injury rates each year. These accomplishments have been recognized by way of receiving 2nd place in the AGC ROSE (Recognition of Safety Excellence) Award in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, they were awarded 3rd place in the AGC National 2021 CSEA and won 1st place for the AGC National 2022 CSEA Award for Specialty Subcontractors (under 500k hours). These wonderful achievements are deserving of congratulations and recognition. Whitaker/Ellis leads by example and is a national leader in construction safety.
Blog post by Anna Kelly, Elisa Rega and Dr. Emily (Yueng-hsiang) Huang from the Safety Climate Lab.
