Manson partnered with JMJ Consulting to host the bi-annual Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Forum in September 2024, inviting safety leaders to Seattle to share ideas, review lessons learned, and consider innovative ways to promote and strengthen their commitment to Incident and Injury-Free™ (IIF™) safety culture.
Contractors who have pledged to an IIF™ safety culture are aligned with a mindset of collectively creating long-term goals to keep people safe, which creates a roadmap to success for their workforces. The forum gathered safety directors representing several organizations, including Massman Construction, Gilbane Building Construction, Aldridge Electric, Allan Meyers, Alberici, Forgen Construction, and Hunter Roberts.
“While industry competitors may keep information about their operations close to the vest, that’s not the case when it comes to safety,” says Manson President & CEO John Holmes. “Our industry recognized years ago that we all needed to work together, sharing best practices and lessons learned, to improve safety performance and prevent injuries to our people.”
JMJ Principal Consultant William Savage opened the forum by thanking Manson and attendees for their commitment to safety. William also shared the history of the safety meeting, reminiscing on past gatherings and the contractors who have invested in improving their safety culture by attending the annual “meeting of the minds.”
This year’s gathering also marked Manson’s 20-year partnership with JMJ and its investment in IIF™, which has unified professional relationships across the organization by changing the way individuals approach and provide safety solutions beyond policies and rules.
“Manson has been a committed partner to our shared success to lead and manage safety towards reliable and effective outcomes,” William shares. “The journey towards sustained greatness is a pursuit that requires confidence, humility, accountability, and learning.”
Next, Manson Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director Forrest Ray introduced Manson’s humble beginnings in the marine construction in Puget Sound, as well as recent dredging projects such as the FY23 West Coast Hopper Maintenance Dredging and Beach Nourishment project in Southern California. This gave the invited contractors—representing the electrical, oil, public health, drilling, and mineral exploration industries—a glimpse of the organization’s work in the maritime industry and the multitude of safety measures implemented while working on or near the water.
“There’s a wealth of knowledge from the various companies that participate in the forum,” Forrest says. “Sharing information and networking with other safety directors is valuable. While we may not implement exact measures from one industry to the next, we can still learn a lot from each other’s lessons and programs.”
JMJ has long supported Manson’s organizational goals of evolving safety and leadership practices as well as supported HSE forums for sharing ideas, addressing current concerns, implementing individual safety programs, and continuing the success of IIF™.
While many topics and examples centralized the idea of creating measures to eliminate workplace injuries and fatalities, one topic that seemed to resonate among the safety leaders was improving employee engagement and buy-in with safety programs.
“One of the most important things that leaders focus on is empowering crews to communicate and speak up when there are safety concerns,” Forrest says. “Manson and JMJ partners seem to have a good handle on implementing tools to encourage communication, but this can always be improved.”
After the safety discussions concluded, Forrest, Seattle Yard Manager Ken Feldhacker, and Marine Compliance Manager Andrew O’Brien gave the group the unique opportunity to tour the Seattle marine yard and step aboard the cutter suction dredge H.R. MORRIS and derrick barge DERRICK 24.
“There’s a great sense of pride in showing contractors our work, equipment, and our employees who work hard and safely to make projects happen,” Forrest explains. “Leading and participating in collaborative industry efforts like this help Manson live by our core values to take care of people, do the right thing, and find a better way.”
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