Four GLFEA Member Firms
Garner NEA Safety Awards

July 22, 2002, Detroit - Four GLFEA member firms were honored recently for safety excellence by the NEA - the Association of Union Constructors (www.nea-online.org). Winning the top honor, the 2001 Thomas J. Reynolds Award for zero lost time incidence rates, were: Walbridge Aldinger Co. (www.walbridge.com), Detroit, in category I, over 1 million work hours, and CBN Steel Construction Inc. (www.cbnsteel.com), Novi, in category III, 100,000 to 499,999 work hours.

Two member firms received certificates of achievement for lost time incidence rates 25% or more below the national

Cindy Broad Nestor, CEO, CBN Steel Construction, Inc., Novi, with her NEA honors

average in 2001: Midwest Steel Inc. (www.midweststeel.com), Detroit, and Precast Services Inc., Twinsburg, Ohio, both in Category III, 100,000 to 499,999 work hours. The awards were presented April 18th during the NEA Annual Meeting in Sanibel, Fla.

"Obviously we're very proud of this award," Joe Leslie, director of safety and quality at CBN Steel Construction said. "It's a reflection of management's commitment to safety and that starts with Cindy (CBN Steel CEO Cindy Broad Nestor) and goes all through the company and also the trades people we hire." Leslie complimented trades people the company uses, saying they are "…interested in safety for themselves and their fellow workers."

Mike Hudgins, safety director with Precast Services Inc., was delighted with the recognition. "It means a lot to us, especially since we're a small company," Hudgins said. For a small company, he explained, even a few lost time incidents raises the rate fairly dramatically.

"We at Midwest Steel Inc. believe that the safety of our people is our number one concern," said William Treharne,

William Treharne, P.E., second from left, accepts the NEA Safety Certificate of Achievement for Midwest Steel Inc., Detroit, where Treharne is director of engineering & administration. With him are, from the left: NEA Executive Vice President Noel Borck; NEA President Donn Taylor, and Joseph Hunt, General President, International Assocation of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.

P.E., the fabrication and erection company's director of engineering and administration. "We put a great amount of resources into our safety programs and are gratified when we get good results. The safety award illustrates the good results but the real satisfaction is that our people go home safe." Treharne is co-chair of the NEA Safety & Health Committee and a member of a variety of other construction safety committees.

The Thomas J. Reynolds Awards were initiated in 1982 by the NEA Safety & Health Committee to recognize outstanding achievement in safety and health programs in the construction industry. Winners are chosen from NEA companies in four different work hour categories using a formula based in part on the total number of man work hours and lost time incidence rates.

Thomas J. Reynolds was a member of the NEA Safety Committee for many years and was also NEA's representative on the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration's Advisory Committee. Reynolds died several years ago and the award was named after him.