Even when it seems impossible, HCSS customers somehow find ways to outdo themselves. For example, in 2023, a total of 15 businesses using HCSS software were among those selected for a Construction Safety Excellence Award (CSEA). This year, that number skyrocketed even higher as 19 HCSS customers were recognized with this significant honor.
A Brief Rundown of the CSEA Winners
The awards ceremony this past March was hosted by AGC – the Associated General Contractors of America – and took place in San Diego, California as a wide variety of construction companies gathered for the annual event. Here is a quick recap of the results!
In the division of Highway & Transportation, 5 of the 8 awards presented went to an HCSS customer, including a clean sweep of all three winners to take home 1st place.
- Ed Bell Construction (under 400,000 work hours)
- Herzog Contracting (400,000–1,000,000 work hours)
- Jordan Foster Construction (over 1,000,000 work hours)
Accepting the Grand Award in 2024 is Jordan Foster Construction, including Operations Manager of the Civil Division, Clint Henson (holding the award in the center).
Similarly, the Heavy Division was dominated by HCSS customers, with Kwest Group placing 1st in their respective categories. In the Construction Management Division, Austin Commercial, the commercial division for Austin Industries, placed 3rd in the category of over 500,000 work hours.
Lastly, in addition to receiving the Highway & Transportation award, Jordan Foster Construction was also the recipient of the most coveted recognition of all, being named the 2024 Grand Award Winner.
“I love HCSS because of its tech support, its continuous customer relationship building, always having an open door to the concerns that we have, and evolving in our industry.”– Asma Bayunus, EHS Operations Manager at Jordan Foster
AGC-Recognized Champions Rely on HCSS Safety
Since so many award-winning companies use HCSS software to help them excel in safety performance, it’s important to note that Jordan Foster is no exception, and they are proud to credit HCSS with helping them achieve such lofty goals in terms of safety.
“For someone who’s on the fence about using any product from HCSS, the biggest asset to me was the tech support team that was able to give me the training,” Bayunus comments. “Data is one of the most important vital parts of Jordan Foster. While our field team members are out there collecting this data and putting it into a system, doing something with the data is extremely important. It not only shows us our leading and lagging indicators, but it also shows us exactly what direction we’re going in a positive or negative fashion. What HCSS was very instrumental with was when we needed to take that next step.”
Jordan Foster's EHS team Asma Bayunus and Damian Alvarez pause for a quick photo after leading a panel at the HCSS Users Group Meeting.
With construction being an ever-evolving industry, reports that are great for companies one year will no longer suffice a few years later. Staying ahead of the curve is a challenge all companies need to embrace and leverage technology to overcome.
“Moving forward is something that is also a part of HCSS,” Bayunus adds. “We appreciate the fact that every single time we’ve asked you to give us an audience for the concerns we’ve had, HCSS has always had a very open-door concept of, ‘What can we do to help you continue to evolve?’”
The Extensive CSEA Selection Process
Unlike other safety award programs that limit the criteria to frequency rates, the CSEA selection process by AGC is considerably more comprehensive. Each application is thoroughly reviewed for evidence of excellence in numerous areas, including:
Company Management Commitment
Safety starts in the field with crew buy-in and engagement. HCSS Safety isn’t just an app for your safety team but a tool where the whole company can collaborate on the unified goal of getting each job done safely. For example, look at how easily Millstone Weber was able to revamp their safety culture based on rapid employee approval.
Active Employee Participation
There’s no documentation as effective as the right safety software. In 2023, 1.7 million meetings were captured in HCSS Safety with over 11 million attendees logged. HCSS Safety makes it easier than ever to capture and review required meetings and inspections, with the software gathering 483,000 hours spent in safety meetings, along with 1.2 million inspections. Even more impressive is the fact 230,000 issues were flagged for correction and 7,000 near misses were captured.
Phillippe Falkner (right), Safety Director and Business Services Specialist for Ed Bell Construction, is shown here using HCSS software in the field. Their company has won an AGC safety award 5 out of the last 7 years.
Safety Training
Tracking certifications in the office and field is an absolute must to make sure only qualified crew members use heavy equipment, as well as do your most challenging work. Software like HCSS Safety also provides email summaries and dashboard alerts to notify managers of which crew members’ certificates are expired or are expiring soon. This system makes it easy to identify each member that needs training and frees your team from hours of monthly spreadsheet management.
“We’ve had 4.3 million man hours without a lost time incident,” says Kwest Group’s Brooke Speiser, whose company just placed 1st in the Heavy Division. “That is such an accomplishment because we truly care about every single employee and want them to go home to their families. So tracking skills and certification of our crews helps by first and foremost getting the right people in the right seat.”
Worksite Hazard Identification and Control
Identifying potential safety hazards at the jobsite is one of the more bulletproof ways to enforce accident prevention. With job hazard analysis software features in HCSS Safety, this is made easy since you can report jobsite safety inspections in minutes and have a permanent audit trail of all follow-ups. On top of that, your records will show every worker who has been involved.
Safety Program Innovation
Like most competition in the construction industry, AGC rewards innovation. It’s not a coincidence that so many of this year’s winners use HCSS Safety, since it’s so much more than just a compliance or meetings tool. The fluid program provides quality, real-time safety data from the field so you can identify trends and provide strategic training when and where it matters.
Want the Same Safety Program as these Award Winners?
The industry’s leading, AGC-recognized champions are committed to safety and trust HCSS to help them excel at safety performance daily. Go ahead and book a demo to speak with a software expert who can help determine if HCSS Safety is right for your company.
