Hensel Phelps wins the safety grand prize for the second time
BY JENNIFER KLING
As AGC members know, the construction industry is among the most dangerous industries in the United States. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 5,283 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2023. Among those reported, construction had the most among all other industry sectors with 1,075 fatalities.
To help address this recurring issue, AGC of America, WTW | Willis and Starr Insurance have made a concerted effort to annually recognize construction companies that go above and beyond to keep their employees safe with the Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA) program. Each year, in partnership with WTW | Willis and Starr Insurance, companies of all sizes and occupational divisions go through a comprehensive application process to demonstrate their commitment to both safety and occupational health management and risk control. With all that goes into the award selection process, it’s especially impressive when a company manages to win the grand award more than once — and this year’s winner has done just that.
Two-Time Winner
Hensel Phelps first won the CSEA grand award in 2023, and they secured the prize again earlier this year at the AGC Annual Convention in Columbus. The company has long made it their mission to ensure the safety of its employees and trade partners. According to their website, Hensel Phelps has achieved one of the industry’s best safety records through a comprehensive corporate safety program, site-specific safety plans, thorough training, meticulous planning and a culture of personal accountability. The company’s “zero-accident” safety culture encompasses everyone involved in Hensel Phelps projects, not just employees.
Jerry Shupe, chief health and safety officer for Hensel Phelps, acknowledged that there is a lot that goes into developing a topnotch safety program.
“For a safety program to be successful, there must be a strong focus on developing and sustaining culture,” said Shupe. “Organizations can have the best policy on paper, but if there is not a commitment from top-level executives and buy-in from frontline craft professionals, you will not be successful. To achieve this, expectations must be clear, understood, communicated and people held accountable when they do not perform. Similarly, it’s critical to recognize what people are doing well to reinforce those that perform well.”
As one might imagine, implementing the company’s robust safety program was no small task and presented several challenges — particularly in the midst of the industry’s unprecedented growth. As Shupe pointed out, while the company was in the process of hiring new people working in new locations, securing significant projects and working with new clients and partners, it was critical to create a strong culture on each project the moment new employees joined the team. Hensel Phelps understood the importance of building systems that incorporated safety into everything the company does.
“We must manage safety from a people perspective rather than only focusing on regulatory compliance,” said Shupe.
Pillars of Excellence
The safety program at Hensel Phelps has continued to evolve over the years. Shupe explained that, for many years, the company’s processes and procedures were developed to comply with multiple regulatory agencies. But they began to learn that, while adhering to regulatory safety standards is a crucial first step for any organization, achieving true safety excellence requires a more comprehensive and proactive approach. Simply meeting the requirements can create a false sense of security and limit further progress in preventing workplace incidents. This involves going beyond the checklist mentality and fostering a proactive safety culture where risk assessment, hazard identification and preventative measures are integral parts of daily operations. With that in mind, Hensel Phelps began focusing on three pillars of safety excellence: Leadership Involvement, Employee Engagement and Accountability and Recognition.
“Once we began emphasizing those areas, we had significant improvement in our culture,” said Shupe. “Executive leadership was more engaged and visible. Our craft professionals had a voice and started participating in our safety program. There was increased pressure to develop and implement programs that would make us better.”
Mike Choutka, chairman and CEO, explained during the competition that for 2025 and beyond that as CEO he was focusing on driving Leadership Involvement, Foreman Development, and a comprehensive Craft Experience.
Learning from Peers
That said, Shupe believed that the most valuable thing Hensel Phelps has done to improve their safety program is learning from their peers and partners. Through their involvement in industry groups such as AGC, Construction Safety Research Alliance, Construction Safety Week and National Construction Safety Executives, the company has been able to both share what they’ve discovered and learn from other companies allowing them to implement new ideas within their own organization for continuous improvement.
The CSEA is unique in that — rather than limiting the award criteria to incident frequency rates alone — companies are selected based on a variety of factors such as Senior Management Ownership and Participation, Risk Identification and Analysis,Task Design – Engineering Controls for Safety, Safe Work Methods (planning and validation of), Worker Engagement, Involvement and Participation, Safety Training and Validation of Training, Subcontractor Management, Emergency Response and Crisis Management.
To be considered, companies submit their application form which then is reviewed and judged at the AGC Construction Safety & Health Conference in January. Once finalists in each divisional category were selected, they were invited to compete in person at the AGC Annual Convention for first, second and third place awards. The grand award winner was selected from among all of the first-place winners. All 2025 winners were celebrated at the CSEA ceremony during the Convention in Columbus.
By committing to such an intense and thorough application process, Shupe said that it can be an opportunity for self-reflection.
“Each year, you must think about what you accomplished the previous year and determine if you achieved the desired outcomes,” Shupe explained. “The process also helps safety professionals think about long-term goals and set the stage for future programs and initiatives based on what you are seeing other organizations do that provide value.”
Shupe believes that what has allowed Hensel Phelps to secure the award a second time is their leadership’s commitment to get better.
“While we have significantly reduced our incident rates and done some incredible things, we recognize there is still work to be done,” said Shupe. “This year, we decided to engage all of our executive leaders to define what safety excellence means to us as an organization. We brought all of them together and focused on what has made us better and asked them to think about what we must do to improve. Part of this initiative is creating our vision for safety excellence and developing a plan to get there.”
Shupe encourages all AGC members to participate in the CSEA program because the application process forces companies to really think about their accomplishments and whether they’re actually producing their desired outcomes. Plus, applicants have the opportunity to present their safety program to a panel of expert judges, which means they must be able to defend why they believe the program is important and effective. Shupe said it’s also an excellent opportunity to “recognize the commitment and hard work of countless individuals that are working tirelessly every day to improve safety across our industry.”