2022 National Safety Month:
Prevent, Address, Empower, and Measure

At APTIM, safety is our entire way of doing business; it’s built into our culture and values. During 2022 National Safety Month, we celebrate our teammates around the globe for their commitment to safety 24/7/365. What does this mean? We prevent incidents before they start by addressing safety concerns in the workplace in real-time and by supporting the health of our teammates. We empower each other to make the safe choice every day and we measure our success with meaningful data and national recognition.

Week 1: Preventing incidents before they start

In the first full week of 2022 National Safety Month, APTIM emphasizes the importance of preventing incidents before they start. Identifying risks and taking proactive measures to reduce hazard exposure on important topics such as office ergonomics, clean work spaces, proper PPE, chemical management, and much more is crucial to creating a safe environment. We asked APTIM team leaders from around the globe to describe what “prevention” means to them:

“Safety incidents are prevented when work is properly planned. APTIM’s Work Management Process provides structure to ensure work is planned and hazards are controlled using written procedures and includes workers and SMEs applicable for the work scope. All hazard analysis begins with a solid work scope and knowledge of the workers’ training and proficiency. If something could go wrong during critical steps, the workers are most likely to know what to look for, and how to prevent it.” Jeff Thompson, Sr. Vice President, Health, Safety, Environmental, & Quality

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (Benjamin Franklin). In Canada, we feel strongly that by empowering our teammates with not only the right, but the responsibility to stop any work, at any APTIM site when safety is in doubt, is critical to our success as a member of the community and as a corporate citizen.” Robin Campeau, Vice President, Canada Operations

“For APTIM Peru, prevention is seen as a conscious effort to align the required pieces to execute work safely. We approach safety prevention through measurable actions like site-specific training, assigning competent supervision, purchasing adequate tools, and fostering a culture in which all employees address safety issues without fear of reprimand.” Rafael Albi, Regional Director, Peru Operations

“Safety for APTIM in Puerto Rico is unquestionably one of the major pillars when executing a project. No one on the team sees safety as a set of rules that needs to be followed. For all of us, it is part of our DNA and part of our culture in the workplace.” Hernan Marrero, Sr. Program Manager, Puerto Rico

“Prevention is everything. We start our daily meetings both in person and online, with a Safety Moment provided by one of our Team Members often focused on real conditions we face daily, here on our Guam projects.” Dave Hayner, Program Manager, Guam

Week 2: Addressing ongoing safety concerns

From facility security, employee mental and physical health, routine internal communications, to the manner we begin team calls, APTIM looks to address ongoing safety concerns for our employees in the workplace.

“APTIM teammates are our most critical asset and we are committed to providing a safe workplace where we serve our clients and communities. Whether on-site, in an office or working remotely, our people deserve an environment to grow, thrive, and perform at their best, all while being safe.” Emily Reed, Vice President of Human Resources and Administration

Every two weeks, the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) team sends out the Safety Tailgate, a company-wide announcement addressing any incidents, near misses, and STOP works that are help remind our team members around the globe:

“The Safety Tailgate is a continuous improvement tool for sharing best practices, innovative approaches, and lessons learned from APTIM and across the industry to help avoid future incidents and prevent injuries to our coworkers. The Safety Tailgate supports a high-performing safety culture by promoting workforce engagement, it is distributed and discussed on projects company-wide as we work toward our goal of zero incidents”. Mohamed Elashheb, HSE Manager

As part of APTIM’s work culture, our teammates begin every meeting with a Safety Moment to always keep employee safety top of mind, whether in the workplace, on the road, or at home:

“We start every meeting with a safety moment. Safety is the number one priority whether you work in an office or on a job site. My goal as a manager is to ensure my team returns home safely to their families each and every day. I’m proud to work for a company that honors that commitment.” Amy Martinez, Client Program Manager

Week 3: Empowering employees to always feel safe

It is vital to feel safe on the job at all times. The ability to make the safe choice at work without fear of retaliation or repercussion is necessary for an inclusive safety culture. APTIM focuses not only on both physical and psychological safety. That is why we demand all of our APTIM teammates feel empowered to make the safe choice:

“At APTIM we choose to be for our teammates every day. The most important way to do this is to behave and work in ways that protects the health and wellbeing of others. We empower every APTIM employee to choose to work safely every day, and we support this choice without exception.” Mark Fallon, Chief Executive Officer

“APTIM’s safety awards are a testament to our employees’ commitment to hold themselves and each other accountable, to promote APTIM’s safety culture, and to empower one another to make the right decision ⁠— even if it isn’t always the easiest one. If we can’t do it safely, we won’t do it.” Jeff Thompson, Sr. Vice President, Health, Safety, Environmental, & Quality

Week 4: Measuring to advance our safety journey

How do we know our efforts are working? APTIM receives countless safety awards each year. In 2021, the National Safety Council (NSC) awarded APTIM 48 times for our teammates’ commitment to safety all over the globe.

2021 National Safety Council Awards

NSC is America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate focusing on eliminating the leading causes of preventable death while on worksites. Each year, NSC recognizes organizations helping make communities, workplaces, and roads in the U.S. safer.

Two APTIM projects received all three awards:

2021 Canadian Safety Achievement Awards