Shipbuilders Council Announces 2022 Safety Awards
The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the association representing shipyards throughout the United States, has announced the recipients of its 2022 Shipyard Safety Awards, which include awards for “excellence in safety,” “improvement in safety” and “significance in safety achievement.”
A total of 15 shipyards and repair facilities received safety awards, with seven of those receiving multiple awards.
The Excellence in Safety Award recognizes shipyards and repair facilities for enhancement of operations, while the Improvement in Safety Award honors facilities for the promotion of safety and accident prevention. The Significance in Safety Achievement Award goes to shipyards that have logged zero fatalities and a total recordable incident rate under 1.0 for the year.
According to SCA, the shipbuilding and repair industry has been seeing a steady decline in its total recordable incident rate. That culture of safety also positioned shipyards to be able to adapt and maintain operations despite restrictions put in place as a result of COVID-19.
“American shipyards are dedicated to, not only achieving the highest safety standards of any heavy manufacturing industry, but also leading in advancing safety practices,” SCA President Matthew Paxton said. “We salute each of the 15 shipyards and repair facilities being recognized this year for their continuous dedication to the health and safety of this critical workforce.”
To be eligible for an SCA safety award, a shipyard must submit the SCA Injury & Illness survey for all four quarters, have zero fatalities for the year and have a total recordable incident rate below the SCA average or reduce the rate by 10 percent or more year over year.
SCA named Alabama Shipyard in Mobile, Ala.; Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La.; Southwest Shipyard L.P. of Channelview, Texas; and Vigor Hawaii in Honolulu as Significance in Safety Achievement Award recipients.
“While Bollinger Shipyards is always proud to be recognized as an industry leader in workplace safety amongst our peers, this year’s award is especially meaningful after everything our employees experienced in 2021,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards and chairman of SCA. “Despite the challenges presented by the ongoing global pandemic and the devastating loss following Hurricane Ida, the men and women of Bollinger maintained their commitment to upholding the highest level of safety in our industry—the Bollinger Standard. I want to commend the resilience and dedication of our employees who continued to work safely and efficiently to deliver high quality vessels for our customers on schedule and on budget.”
The following shipyards received the Excellence in Safety Award: Alabama Shipyard; Bollinger Shipyards; Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, La.; Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Manitowoc, Wis.; Metal Shark Boats, Jeanerette, La.; MHI Ship Repair & Services, Norfolk, Va.; North Atlantic Ship Repair LLC, Boston; Philly Shipyard Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.; Southwest Shipyard; Vigor Alaska, Ketchikan, Alaska; Vigor Hawaii; Vigor Portland, Portland, Ore.; and Vigor Vancouver, Vancouver, Wash.
“Safety has always been a core value at Conrad, and we make a steadfast commitment every day to ourselves, our employees and our customers,” said Conrad Shipyard Chairman and CEO Johnny Conrad. “We are honored for the award recognition. I am very proud of our employees for their dedication.”
SCA gave the Improvement in Safety Award to the following shipyards: Bollinger Shipyards; Conrad Shipyard; Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; Fincantieri Marinette Marine; MHI Ship Repair & Services; Philadelphia Ship Repair, Philadelphia, Pa.; and Southwest Shipyard.
