2023 Safety Week Recap

National Construction Safety Week, May 1 – May 6, was the perfect opportunity to celebrate our world-class safety culture, KeeleySafe! Nothing we do is more important than returning every Keeley’n, client, subcontractor, and community member home safely each day. We spent this week discussing a new safety topic every day, celebrating our wins, learning from our mistakes, and bringing our safety culture home to our loved ones.

Monday, May 1: Purpose & Pillars + EMR

We kicked off Safety Week by announcing our updated, industry-leading EMR of .61. This incredible accomplishment was made possible by the intense focus our team members place on staying safe every single day.

Monday’s Safety Topic was all about our Purpose & Pillars. KeeleySafe spreads the belief that at our CORE, our Purpose is Keeping People Safe. This means ZERO unsafe acts including recordable injuries, preventable motor vehicle incidents, and preventable utility hits. Our Keeley’ns live out this culture through our CORE pillars: Collaboration, Ownership, Relationships, and Education.

Collaboration | Collaboration between craftspeople, project members, site supervision, safety team members, and leadership is essential to identifying and mitigating potential hazards. By doing this, team members can be assured that the top priority is keeping people safe.

Ownership | Safety requires a shared sense of ownership and responsibility among all stakeholders to prioritize safety at each stage of a project. Every team member should be empowered to take ownership in order to ensure safety is top of mind and everyone makes it home.

Relationships | Relationships are a key component to any type of success – and safety is no exception. Developing and fostering relationships is crucial for promoting a culture of safety and providing everyone with the tools and resources they need to stay safe.

Education | With ongoing projects across a variety of groups and services nationwide, providing comprehensive safety education and training to all team members is essential to ensuring team members have the knowledge needed to keep themselves and each other safe.

Tuesday, May 2: My Why + Keeley Construction State of the Union

We all have a reason we choose to be safe. Whether that is our families, friends, pets, or anything else that motivates us – we all have a WHY. It is important that we remember our WHY each and every day. This WHY keeps us focused on staying safe and keeping our fellow Keeley’ns safe day in and day out. If you can keep your WHY top of mind as a constant reminder to stay safe, the results we can achieve will be extraordinary. Remembering your WHY is just one way that we can achieve ZERO and send every Keeley’n home safe. We spent this day sharing our WHYs and even got our Keeley’n kiddos involved! We sent home coloring sheets so our kids could show us their WHY and why they want their moms and dads to stay safe.

This day was also jam packed with celebrations. Keeley Construction President, Tom Birkemeier, presented the Keeley Construction State of the Union, talking to us about our 2022 results, goals for 2023, growth, and vision for the future. Throughout the day our offices nationwide were treated to a Taco Tuesday and our Canton, OH office had a BBQ celebration after Tom’s address. It was a day full of positivity and fun!

Wednesday, May 3: Inspections

Inspections are a crucial element of safety at work and at home. It is important to ensure every jobsite and property is inspected regularly to identify and address potential hazards. Inspections help eliminate dangerous conditions that could cause accidents and injuries. They help to identify risks and take action before incidents occur, and are an important component of ensuring Keeley’n, customer, and client safety on our jobsites and properties. Inspections at home are just as important. Whether you are using electric or mechanical tools or climbing a ladder, an inspection is necessary to guarantee proper function. Inspections ensure the task you are about to work on is completed safely.

Thursday, May 4: Driving Safety + Trivia

Driving is one of the most dangerous things we do every single day. It is no different when we are at work than when we are at home – driving always requires our full focus and attention. There are two safety principles to follow when driving: minimizing distractions and safe following distances. There are three types of distractions that can occur when driving – visual, physical, and cognitive. The ideal following distance is four seconds, allowing us time to perceive and react to anything on the road.

To keep our Keeley’ns minds sharp, we tested their driving safety knowledge with nationwide trivia! Six questions were emailed out and the first person to answer each question correctly got a prize. Can you get all six questions right? Check out the end of the blog for the answers!

Driving after going more than how many hours without sleep is the equivalent of driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%?

What is the recommended following distance for passenger vehicles?

True or False: Ice with a temperature of zero degrees is more slippery than ice just above freezing temperature?

When two vehicles arrive at an intersection at the same time, which one has the right-of-way when no signs or signals indicate rules?

What are the three types of distractions while driving?

When a driver approaches a traffic signal that is “dark” with no indications, what is the requirement of the driver of an approaching vehicle?

Friday, May 5: KeeleySafe Certification + Gratitude

Our Safety Team provides multiple trainings and educational opportunities to ensure our Keeley’ns have the knowledge to complete tasks and lead teams safely. At Keeley, we understand it is our responsibility to educate our team members on how to perform each task safely. Meeting these required trainings allows our team members to earn the title “KeeleySafe Certified.” We want to recognize our Keeley’ns for their commitment to safety on the jobsite and attendance in the multitude of training opportunities Keeley provides.

We would like to thank all Keeley’ns for their commitment to safety every day. It is the culture our team members continue to grow and foster that keeps safety at the top of our minds. Our safety culture is so special as it continues to drive our Keeley’ns to keep one another safe. Thank you for being KeeleySafe!

Safety Fairs

At our offices in St. Louis, New Braunfels, and Phoenix, we hosted our Annual Safety Fairs for our Keeley’ns and their families. These fairs were full of food, drinks, games, and fun all while celebrating our safety culture with our families and fellow Keeley’ns. It is truly one of our favorite days of the year as it brings all of us together with a common purpose of keeping people safe. We can’t wait until next year!

Learn more about what it means to be KeeleySafe here.

Answers from trivia:

Q1: 20 Hours

Q2: Four Seconds

Q3: False

Q4: The car approaching from the right

Q5: Physical, Visual, and Cognitive

Q6: stop at the stop line and obey the same requirements as a multi-way stop