WEDA Seeks Nominees for Safety Excellence Awards

The Western Dredging Association (WEDA) is seeking organizations or project teams with exceptional safety performance and a proactive approach to raising awareness of safety in dredging for its Safety Excellence Award. One winner will be chosen for both the Dredging Contractor and Dredging Project awards,

Winners will be announced at this year’s Dredging Summit and Expo, “Navigating the Future in Dredging,” held June 25 to 28 in Norfolk, Virginia. Applications must be submitted by April 30, to Julie Hile, WEDA Safety Commission Chair at hgoffice@hilegroup.com or 309-888-4453. Winners are asked to register and attend the Dredging Summit & Expo to participate on the Safety Panel and receive the award in person.

Eligible applicants must be WEDA members who operate in WEDA’s jurisdiction, have a 2017 recordable injury rate of 2.0 or less with a continuous downward trend in Recordable Incidents from 2015 to 2017. Dredging contractors, suppliers and manufacturers, government entities, consultants, and academics, may all apply.
Applications must include:

• A narrative describing the contractor’s safety journey, its challenges and unique success strategies.
• An overview of the company’s Safety Management System (SMS) and other noteworthy support processes.
• Leading indicators of safety success (actions taken to ensure safe work) such as near miss/good catch rates, training records, safety STOP rates, records of safety contacts among company employees at all levels, or quality checks on Job Safety Analysis.
• Total Recordable Injury and Lost Time Injury Rates for 2015-2017.
• Two (2) safety improvement strategies or tools to be shared during the WEDA Summit and Expo Safety Panel.
• A closing reflection about what the contractor’s safety accomplishments offer WEDA colleagues, including 2 safety improvement strategies or tools to be shared during the conference Safety Panel.