July, 2011
“Our team has earned this designation through determination and company-wide focus on behavior based safety" says Dave Drumrine, President, Interstates Construction Services |
Interstates Companies has earned the STEP Diamond status, the highest safety designation awarded by Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC). The Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) awards are granted annually by ABC’s National organization based on submitted applications. Interstates has earned the 2011 STEP Diamond designation based on safety performance over the past three years (2008, 2009, 2010).
Interstates Companies is recognized nationally by ABC as having earned Diamond status, as well as in the four state chapters in which Interstates is a member: Iowa, Rocky Mountain, Cornhusker, and Arizona Builder’s Alliance. As of June 2011, Interstates is the only company to achieve this highest designation in each of the four state chapters. Nationwide, just 71 of 1,394 STEP applicants (representing less than 1/10th of 1 percent of total ABC membership) have qualified for Diamond status.
“The STEP Diamond safety designation from ABC is truly an honor for all Interstates Construction Services employees,” says Dave Crumrine, President, Interstates Construction Services. “Our team has earned this designation through determination and company-wide focus on behavior based safety. Our results demonstrate that culture and behavior is the key to keeping people safe today and into the future.”
STEP awards are based on 20 key elements of a contractor’s safety program that includes safety policies, employee commitment and training, management commitment and budgeting. STEP Diamond represents the pinnacle of safety performance in the construction industry. Using industry measurement benchmarks—incidence rate and Experience Modification Rate (EMR, or “mod factor”)—STEP Diamond examines a company’s long-term safety performance and recognizes exceptional commitment to a safe workplace.
STEP Diamond requires that companies maintain a maximum incidence rate that is 50% BELOW their Bureau of Labor Statistics’ North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code average for each of the previous three years—meaning that to even be considered for STEP Diamond status, companies must have less than ½ of the total number of recordable incidents than their industry counterparts. STEP Diamond applicants must also maintain an EMR of 0.700 or below. That means STEP Diamond applicants must maintain an EMR—a three-year history of workers’ compensation payouts vs. the insured’s premium—at least 30% below the average for the construction industry.
STEP Diamond recognizes not just outstanding safety performance for a single year, but a company’s overall commitment to safety over a three-year period as well as the underlying program strengths needed to maintain the EMR and incident requirements. Achieving STEP Diamond is not an easy feat—many companies with exceptional safety records do not meet the stringent qualifying criteria. Companies who do achieve STEP Diamond status have demonstrated that their safety performance truly ranks as the very best in the construction industry.