July 1, 2022

Message from the Safety office

Good morning!

Since the start of the construction season, we have been working through quite a bit of challenging issues including getting proper locates, equipment/material shortages, high fuel costs, etc. One thing that is not on this list is managing injuries. We cannot control USIC nor any supply chain issues, but the one thing we can control is our attitude and effort with regards to safety, and you have.

However, we have been fortunate in some situations. We had a sling fail without injury, a near miss when an unsecured load fell off the hook on the bucket (employee that rigged the load is no longer at Park), and we had an employee struck in the hard hat with a piece of concrete. All three of instances could have resulted in a significant injury but didn’t. Why? Because our employees were following safe practices by not working under a live load and wearing their PPE.

We cannot reduce every risk to zero but if we plan safety into the work, communicate properly, and follow safe practices, we can limit the amount risk to an acceptable level and get everyone home safely.

Everyone is aware of the trench fatalities that occurred in St. Paul, and how unfortunate, but preventable the incident was. If you’ve ever conducted a SIF (Significant Injury/Fatality) investigation, you will see that 99% of all SIF’s have occurred before but without injury. That is why incident and near miss reports are so critical. These reports tells us how a SIF could occur if we don’t correct it.

You have all done extremely well this year by reporting near misses, caring for each other, and taking pride in your work. We all thank you and have a great 4th of July!

Jeff Slusser

HS&G/Park Joint Venture

"I’m sure by now many of you have heard someone in the company stating something like “we are going to bid that job under the Joint Venture” or you’ve seen a logo like the one above. I imagine many of you are wondering what does this all mean; did Park buy another company; does Park have a new partner we are working with; what exactly does “bidding under the Joint Venture (J/V) mean? Hopefully, after reading the article you’ll have the answer to those questions as well as; why Park entered into a J/V agreement, what is the benefit of entering into a J/V agreement and the success of the J/V to date."

Example of some projects we've done as a Joint Venture:

• Gavins Point Damn - Yankton, SD: $4.442M
• Devils Lake 17th St. Pond - Devils Lake, ND: $1.279M
• Sioux Falls Levee Rehab - Sioux Falls, SD: $523k
• Drain 27 Wetland Restoration - Horace, ND: $3.853M
• Drayton Dam Fish Passage - Drayton, ND: $7.653M

Hand Held Radio Survey

We asked those that attended Safety Days, how to improve field communication and many of the responses was radios in the equipment and hand held radios. Before we make a purchase, we'd like to ask how many of you would utilize these radios if they were put into the field. Please respond below with your thoughts.

Employee Spotlight - Mike Ruffin

Park Photo Contest