At The Top - May 2008

Employee Safety Ranks No. 1

PENTA Building Group’s New Culture

According to OSHA, nine construction workers have died in the past 16 months on Strip projects. With more than $500 million in construction projects across the state, how does a private commercial general contractor keep its employees safe? The PENTA Building Group has introduced its new company-wide safety initiative “Culture of C.A.R.E.” – Concern, Awareness, Rewards, Education – as a way to promote workplace safety. The principle is shared by each employee within the organization.

The company kicked off its 2008 safety initiatives in January by hosting an event for its employees and subcontractors featuring certified speaking professional Chad Hymas. Hymas was involved in a serious accident leaving him a quadriplegic. Since the accident, he has shared his personal story to convey a powerful message of safety while audiences worldwide. At the event, Hymas spoke candidly about the importance of workplace safety in the construction industry and challenged the PENTA team to reexamine their behaviors and change their habits, routines and beliefs.

Both on and offsite, PENTA works hard to communicate the Culture of C.A.R.E. message to everyone in the company. This commitment is conveyed in the company’s safety mission that PENTA “values worker and public safety at every level of the organization, from the president of the company to the newly hired apprentice or project engineer. This is a true commitment to safety that emphasizes pre-planning, monitoring safety performance, and enforcing safety standards.”

As a part of the Culture of C.A.R.E. program, all PENTA salaried field employees will complete the 30-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) course. Subcontractors will be invited and encouraged to attend these training courses as well. PENTA will also conduct other classes in 2008 including training in scaffolding and excavations. A new recognition program called “Safety Champion” has been implemented at each project site to reward field employees and supervisors. This program recognizes workers for safe behavior and supervisors for identifying safe workers.

PENTA has several projects currently under construction or recently completed, where employees incorporate the Culture of C.A.R.E. principles:

The 689,400-square-foot Aliante Station Casino is located in North Las Vegas, on 40 acres, at Aliante Parkway and the 215 Beltway. The World Market Center Building C is located in downtown Las Vegas. The 2.1 million-square-foot, 16-story, steel-framed building measures 250 feet wide by 700 feet long atop a 27,000 cubic yard concrete mat foundation.

PENTA recently completed the 600-room renovation of the east tower of John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Reno.

At the University of Nevada, Reno, PENTA recently completed work on the Marguerite Wattis Petersen Foundation Athletic Academic Center, a 8,293-square-foot LEED-accredited facility, and the Joe E. Crowley Student Union, a 167,000-square-foot structural steel and brick building.