SAFETY & HEALTH IN CONSTRUCTION


what can we do as a contractor to ensure the new workforce gets the training when they need it, or before they need it?”


Tapping Technology to Improve Safety


Rosendin has taken a multi-


faceted approach to confront the workforce development and training challenge head-on. It has taken a leadership role nationally, sharing its own best practices in an effort to improve safety in the industry as a whole through a variety of forums. Rosen- din’s strategy has included a focus on developing technology and training programs in-house to improve jobsite processes and to keep their workers armed with continuously updated safety information, both on the jobsite and in the office. Recently Rosendin developed a


Rosendin workers use the digital pre-task planning work plan app on a jobsite.


Rouse said. Newer portable tools often have stronger torque than in the past, escalating the risk of potential injury. “As new technology comes out, you need to provide training on the tool to ensure a worker is going to use it safely,” he added. Te company is also in the process


digital pre-task planning work plan (PTP WP) that is accessible as an app through workers’ iPads or other mobile devices. Te app features speech to text features, permits, tool training and signatures - all easily accessed in the field at the touch of a button. “What we have done is made it


a one-shot deal, so the person in the field doesn’t have to leave and try to find the documents they need,” Rouse said. “Everything is geared to make it easier for guys in the field to get the information they need at their fingertips.” Te company also created various


tool training posters that they introduce to workers at new hire orientations and post throughout their jobsites. Te posters are acces- sible through mobile devices as well. With the click of a link on their iPad or scan of a tool’s QR code on any internet-connected device, users can easily download a Rosendin-developed training video illustrating how to properly use an array of different tools. “A lot of the equipment and tools have evolved just like everything else,”


www.AGC-CA.org


of developing training pods for their safety professionals to provide basic training on a variety of different topics, “not from the classroom perspective but from the perspective of being on the actual jobsite,” Rouse said. Rosendin additionally developed a craft safety pilot program that encourages craft workers to be more involved looking for safety improvements on Rosendin projects, giving craftworkers a bigger voice on safety issues. Te feedback from the field on all of the efforts has been “very, very positive,” Rouse noted. “We don’t look at ourselves like we know everything; we want to continue to improve and do better.”


Improving Safety Industrywide


On a national scale, Rosendin


Electric President and Chief Operating Officer Larry Beltramo started a large contractors’ group through the National Electrical Contractors Association that has brought together over a dozen companies or more to share ideas of safety innovations and best practices with one another. “Not only do we want to improve safety at Rosendin, for our employees,


but we want to improve the overall impact to the entire industry,” Rouse said. “It’s a two-sided coin; we have shared stuff we do at Rosendin, but we’ve also learned different things that other companies are doing that have helped us.” Rouse said participation in


AGC, through the CEF and the Safety & Health Council, also plays a key role helping the company stay better informed on safety regula- tions, trends and shared industry challenges. “It’s the lifeline of a


successful company to be very much aware of changing standards and to implement them and train your employees on those changes,” he said. “I think the benefits of being part


of AGC’s Safety & Health Council is learning more about the new changes coming to the state of California and being aware of the changes so you can prepare yourself and your company,” Rouse added. “Having the opportunity to be a voice within an industry group and to respond to those changes is important.” 


QR code links on the safety poster allow users to connect directly to Rosendin tool training videos.


Associated General Contractors of California 15


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