Playing it Safe

Published Aug. 19, 2013
John Lindsay knows a thing or two about how to keep a worksite safe.

John Lindsay knows a thing or two about how to keep a worksite safe.

John Lindsay knows a thing or two about how to keep a worksite safe.

John Lindsay knows a thing or two about how to keep a worksite safe.

Charleston District Safety Officer John Lindsay has one main goal – ensure that safety is the number one priority to the District and all contractors we work with. While ensuring the safety of the entire District, much of his focus is at Fort Jackson, where the majority of construction takes place.

Lindsay travels to Fort Jackson on a quarterly basis, or more often if requested, but he also depends on the alternate safety officer, John Tyson. Tyson is at Fort Jackson on a daily basis inspecting for quality and safety as defined by the Army Safety and Health Requirements Manual, as well as Occupation Safety and Health Administration construction standards.

All of the District’s project managers, quality assurance specialists and engineers are trained in construction disciplines. These skills enhance their capabilities of finding safety discrepancies on construction sites, which helps keep our construction mishaps low. The District has an outstandingly low rate of injury with only 0.005 percent compared to a 0.05 percent rate for outside contracting.

“I personally think it’s important to praise the contractor for good safety practices that he is using,” said Lindsay. “We want them to correct the discrepancies and we will help them make those corrections, but we also want them to know that we appreciate their actions on keeping the work site safe.”

Lindsay and Tyson build rapport with contractors from the beginning of a project, which provides a safe working atmosphere for all. A typical safety inspection starts with meeting the contractor and going over their entire safety program. They also ensure that the contractor has all the required paperwork, such as his training records, qualifications, and safety bulletin boards, as well as any other program management requirements. After this meeting, the team visits the construction site, where they look for any construction-related safety discrepancies.

By having a “safety first” attitude and ensuring a safe environment before and during construction, the District is in safe hands, all the time.