Stellar Wins National Safety Award from Associated Builders and Contractors

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (April 2, 2019) — Stellar, a fully integrated firm focused on design, engineering, construction and mechanical services worldwide, has earned a National Safety Excellence Award from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).

The company received the award at the 29th annual Excellence in Construction® Awards gala during the 2019 ABC Convention.

“Safety is a core value at Stellar, and it takes top priority throughout each project, regardless of its size, location or scope of construction,” said Phil Hinrichs, Vice President of Risk Management at Stellar. “From project managers to superintendents to subcontractors, all project team members are responsible and accountable for upholding our strict safety standards. And what makes it successful is that our safety culture starts with top management and permeates through all levels of the company.”

Despite working in high-risk categories such as roofing and welding, Stellar’s safety record is notably better than the industry average in the three major safety benchmarks:

• Experience modification rate (EMR), which is applied to workers’ compensation premiums

• Total recordable incident rate (TRIR)

• OSHA recordable injury and illness incident rates

Historically, Stellar’s EMR, TRIR and OSHA recordable injury and illness incident rates are half that of other firms in the industry.

The 2018 National Safety Excellence Award winners were selected from ABC member firms that achieved Diamond, Platinum and Gold status in ABC's STEP safety management system in 2018.

During the selection process, national safety winners were judged on:

• Self-evaluation scores

• Lost workday case rates

• Total recordable incident rates

• Leading indicator use

• Process and program innovations

• Video interviews conducted by members of ABC’s National Safety and Health Committee

“Associated Builders and Contractors is proud to honor Stellar for creating world-class safety processes and a safety culture where every employee understands that the well-being of those around them is everyone’s responsibility,” said 2019 ABC National Chair Tony Rader, telecom vice president of National Roofing Partners, Coppell, Texas. “Their top-down, bottom-up approach to creating safe job sites — and ensuring every one of their employees goes home in the same or better condition than when they arrived — is the gold standard in merit shop construction.” 

The National Safety Awards are presented in three major North American Industry Classification System code categories: NAICS 236 – Construction of Buildings; NAICS 237 – Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction; and NAICS 238 – Specialty Trade Contractors. 

STEP is the standard for developing world-class safety management systems in construction. It is designed to help both large and small contractors evaluate every aspect of their corporate safety and health programs and identify opportunities for improvement. According to ABC’s annual Safety Performance Report, the average STEP Diamond company is more than six times safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ average for the entire industry based on their total recordable incident rate.

A full list of National Safety Award winners can be found on ABC’s website.

About Stellar

Stellar is a fully integrated design, engineering, construction and mechanical services firm that provides the industry’s most comprehensive range of self-performed services, including planning, design, preconstruction, construction, refrigeration, mechanical and utility, building envelope, and total operations and maintenance services. More than 750 Stellar employees worldwide create award-winning food processing plants, refrigerated warehouses, distribution centers, commercial buildings and military facilities. In addition to its Jacksonville, Florida, headquarters, Stellar operates nearly 50 support locations and offices throughout the United States, China and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The company also serves Central and South America, Europe and India. For more information, visit stellar.net.