Worker Safety is Priority One
National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories
January 10, 2007
Worker safety is a fundamental tenet during the construction of the NEIDL. Everyone associated with the project including, Building Trades personnel, Turner/McCarthy Project Manager personnel (Construction Manager) and BUMC and BMC staff fully understand that worker safety is of paramount importance. A full time safety engineer is a key component of the project staff.
The banner that hangs on the project site, seen by those who enter the site daily, states the primary objective: Priority # 1, everybody goes home at the end of the day.”
The NEIDL project began mobilization of site activities in March 2006. Today it is almost 20% complete. Nearly seventy thousand labor hours (69,624) have been logged with the Building Trades, which equates into 8,703 person days through December 29, 2006. During that time, there were only four minor injuries on the project site: one small laceration to a finger, two pulled or strained back and shoulder muscles, and one knee injury. This is considered to be an excellent safety record.