SAFETY AWARDS


the emotional consequences,” he noted. Additional speakers and/or awards


presenters at this year’s CSEA Awards luncheon included AGC of California President Walt Johnson, K.G. Walters Construction; Richard Howell, Swinerton Builders, Chair of the Safety & Health Council and Master of Ceremonies; Vice Chair Mike Ruzek, Herzog Contracting Corp.; and Jennifer Garcia, Reyes Construction, CSEA Task Force Chair.


2018 CSEA Specialized Award Categories Winners


Continued from page 15 Safety Awards speaker Joe Tarantelli with


Safety & Health Council Vice Chair Mike Ruzek.


complacency – that he said had been aware of, in hindsight, could have helped him avoid the life-altering accident. “My hope is by telling this story nobody takes the chances I did and gets themselves hurt enough to where they and their family have to pay


Several individuals and companies


received awards in the specialized award categories of the CSEA program this year, including the


following:  Individual Safety Effort of a Project Superintendent – Joe Sorrels with Monterey Mechanical


 Unique Safety Application – Southland Industries, for their Centralized Nitrogen Room.


Monterey Mechanical Superintendent Recognized Joe Sorrels, superintendent for


Monterey Mechanical Co., was recognized for his safety efforts with the “Individual Safety Effort of a Superintendent” award from AGC of California. Sorrels has been completely committed


to safety throughout his 17-year career with Monterey Mechanical Co. He began his career with the firm as a millwright and then was quickly promoted to foreman and then superintendent on key Monterey projects. He currently is project superin- tendent at three Monterey Mechanical projects with the Department of Water Resources in Orovillle, CA. Those projects have expended over 200,000 worker hours without a recordable injury or first aid case since 2015, including subcontractors. Over his career with Monterey Mechanical Sorrels helped shape the employee


Safety Awards Judges A panel of three diverse


individuals representing the many aspects of the construction safety industry served as judges for the 31st Annual AGC of California Construction Safety Excellence Awards program. They included:


 Lisa Prince, Walter & Prince, LLP


 Kevin Thompson, Cal-OSHA Reporter


 Robert Pinney, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.


(ACCO Engineered Systems was recognized as a finalist for their Site Safety Inspection.)


 Safety on a High Hazard Project – Syblon Reid, for their Oroville Dam Spillway Emergency Response project. (Royal Electric Company was recognized as a finalist for their Oakland Airport Runway 12-30 Rehabilitation project.)


Awards were also presented


in three occupational categories – Building, Heavy/Civil/Highway and Specialty Contractor – and were organized on a sliding scale system by the number of work hours completed during 2017. Winners in these categories are outlined below.


At right, Joe Sorrels, Monterey Mechanical, accepts the award for Individual Safety Effort of a Project Superintendent from presenter Mike Ruzek.


recognition and disciplinary policy, as well as mentor fellow employees to achieve the highest degree of safety. Monterey Mechanical Co. President Jim Troup commented in nominating Sorrel


for the award, “Joe is the epitome of our safety culture on a daily basis, continu- ously reinforcing the company motto ‘Safety First and Always.’ Joe’s contributions to the project and throughout the company have made his projects successful, safe and have paved a bright future for Monterey Mechanical Co.”


16 January/February 2019


AGC of California’s First Place CSEA winners:  Building Division Under 400,000 worker hours – BNBuilders.


 Heavy/Civil/Highway Division Under 300,000 worker hours – Pulice Construction, Inc.


 Specialty Contractor Division Under 500,000 worker hours – Monterey Mechanical Co.


 Building Division Over 1 million worker hours – McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.


Continued on page 18 California Constructor


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