Kinateder Masonry Honored for Safety Excellence
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From left, Sugar Ray Leonard, Willis Deputy Chairman Jim Maloney, Safety Director Jim Kinateder and President Fred Kinateder of Fred Kinateder Masonry, and former AGC President Steve Massie. |
In March, IMI Co-Chair and ICE President Fred Kinateder accepted the Associated General Contractors of America’s prestigious Construction Safety and Excellence Award (CSEA) in the specialty division on behalf of his firm, Fred Kinateder Masonry, Inc. of Waukesha, Wisconsin. “We have always felt that part of our responsibility is to send [our employees] home safely at the end of the day,” said Kinateder.
The firm took top honors for a specialty contractor with 100,001–300,000 work hours, beating out two electrical contractors. Judges included safety experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, OSHA, and major contractors and owners. In 2007, the firm had zero lost time accidents, down from three in 2006.
“We built a culture of safety,” said Kinateder. “We do a lot of training when new guys come on, and for everybody, we are always going over and above what’s required.” That includes a silica awareness program and engineering controls, scaffold training, and hearing testing.
For Kinateder, keeping employees safe is also a good business decision. “To be successful, you have got to protect your resources.” The trick is finding creative ways to reach different personalities, he says, and that is where a safety bonus plan has worked well. Since everyone shares the bonus if there are no lost time accidents or OSHA citations, the employees “look out for each other.”
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