Communication Communicating the risk and the plan to the field crews was critical. The entire job met each day to address haul routes, concrete pours, current or changing ac- cess, near misses, or areas for concern. Skanska’s safety program follows


a strict plan, do, check, act cycle. This encouraged project leadership to be in the field every day making sure the construction work plans were understood and that new risks were communicated and quickly corrected. Strong communication was also


maintained with all project stakehold- ers. The California Highway Patrol and other surrounding response agencies were regularly kept abreast of current project concerns.


Controlling Change The focus on controlling change was a differentiator on this project. With several phases, constant unforeseen conditions, and an overwhelming scope, the team repeatedly was able to identify changes and correct course. When large sections of 200-ft. tall


slopes would fail and threaten the public and workers, the team imme- diately worked to remedy the situa- tion. In one case specialized “spider” excavators were used to crawl up 45-degree slopes to access otherwise unreachable damage. When trucks could not drive to places


workers needed to access, rope access and rock-climbing techniques were used to secure workers to the slope faces. By understanding the risks and


the hazards and identifying needed change, Skanska achieved a high de- gree of success on this project – com- pleting two years and half- a-million worker hours without a single incident.


Kiewit Superintendent Recognized A


s super- intendent at Kiewit


Infrastructure West Co. for over 14 years, Adam McNutt has managed


numerous complicated and hazardous projects including the Crane Valley Dam Seismic Retrofit, Southeast Connector Phase 1, Folsom Dam Auxiliary Spillway Phase 4, and Hell Hole Dam Core Raise. AGC recognized McNutt with its


2021 CSEA Award for individual safety effort of a project superintendent. McNutt views every project through


the lens of safety as soon as Kiewit is awarded the job. He starts by reviewing the details of the project and making a list of Life Changing Categories (LCC) and areas of the project where these incidents can occur. From there, he works with the team


to engineer the risk away or if that can’t be done, develops a Prevention and Reduction plan. Once the project is ready to begin the workforce and staff are trained on the selected categories and safety processes. His focus on creating a culture of


safety strives to make safety real for each person on the job. At the start of each job, he asks craft to take time to write down their top three safety hazards as well as what is important to them – getting workers thinking about


safety and gaining a greater under- standing of what motivates them. He works to connect and build relation- ships with workers to create trust and an investment in one another. Just one example of this critical


relationship building was on the Hell Hole Dam Core Raise project (pictured above), which is located in a very remote, moun- tainous area with one road in and out to the nearest town, Foresthill. Getting to the town can be a 2-hour trip on the steep, winding road. The remote location required that the crew live on-site and all their food and supplies be brought in. Everything had to be carefully accounted for or time and money would be lost. Proactive communication between the team was extremely important. Fire danger, wildlife danger, dam


crest excavation and COVID-19 were just some of the major hazards the team faced. The job was performed with zero safety incidents throughout the entire job. Building relationships with the entire team was critical to the success of this project. McNutt was able to create a culture where everyone had a stake in their safety but the safety of others and the quality of the project. As Kiewit Infrastructure West’s


Northern California Area Manager, Todd Orbus, put it, “Adam has a unique ability to build a highly motivated team to tackle complex and remote projects. Safety, quality, and client satisfaction are his highest priority.”


CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022


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