Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Georgia honored general and specialty contractor members for their dedication to safety at its annual safety awards program on June 17, 2019, at City Springs in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Graycor Southern, a leading industrial process mechanical and general contractor, achieved  Platinum-level  in the Associated Builders and Contractor’s STEP safety management system.

“Safety excellence is the number one priority for Graycor Southern,” said John Paul White, Graycor Southern’s Safety Director. “Standing on stage, accepting such an honorable award from ABC STEP, was a proud moment for me, as the Director of Safety.”

Graycor Southern was awarded with a Platinum STEP and was also a Georgia Award of Safety Excellence Recipient. The association’s safety awards are presented annually to Georgia contractors that achieved low rates of on-the-job injuries and that have demonstrated the highest commitment to safety and safety training.

“As an industry, it is our responsibility to ensure our workers go home in the same –or better—condition than when they arrived on the jobsite every day,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development. “By participating in STEP, Graycor Southern’s leadership has demonstrated a commitment to create the conditions for all to do their work without incident. By implementing proactive safety measures, such as toolbox talks and sound substance abuse policies, Graycor Southern is committed to consistently raising the bar when it comes to safety performance.”

Founded in 1989, the ABC STEP process is a safety benchmarking and improvement tool that contains the key components of a world-class safety management system. STEP objectively evaluates safety programs, policies, procedures and training, based on 24 key components. STEP participation is proven to drastically reduce accidents and injuries as companies use it to build their safety program.

ABC Georgia chapter chairman, Joe Jenkyn, Fortune-Johnson General Contractors, along with ABC of Georgia’s Safety Forum chair, Charles Davis, Fly & Form Structures, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and ABC of Georgia President and CEO, Bill Anderson took part in the proceedings.

According to ABC’s annual Safety Performance Report, applying STEP processes dramatically improves safety performance among participants regardless of company size or type of work, and can reduce recordable incidents up to 85%, making the best performing companies 680% safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics industry average. Ratings range from Diamond, the highest, to Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Participant.

To learn more about the STEP program, visit www.abcstep.org.