Safety & Quality Control

Safety

As a result of being in business for more than forty-two years, we recognize that accidents not only cause injury to personnel but also have a corporate financial impact. First, we lose the production of the individual who was injured. Secondly, as the number of accidents increase so does the premium we pay for workman’s compensation insurance. Therefore, we recognize the importance of, and firmly commit to, doing all that is reasonably possible to have no accidents on our projects.

Safety Control Procedures

To a great extent, safety and safety related issues on government projects are dictated by Corps of Engineers Manual EM 385-1-1. Our company has completed numerous projects either for the Corps of Engineers directly or for other Government agencies that specify EM 385-1-1 as their standard for safety. Generally, EM 385-1-1 is more stringent and broader than OSHA standards. However; in those instances where this is not the case, we are familiar with and abide by OSHA standards. We recently completed a $9,000,000 two year contract with the Corps of Engineers at Fort Lee, Virginia. We had no major accidents and only a few relatively minor accidents on that project. We have also performed work in a safe manner at the Public Works Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. Our company is very much accustomed to preparing detailed safety plans, hazardous analysis plans, hazard abatement plans, etc. Since almost all our work is for the U.S. Government, we are extremely familiar with and accustomed to working with the various federal safety standards.

Some of the specific things we perform on our project:

1. Prepare a safety plan that is specific to this project.
   
2. Hold Weekly Toolbox Safety Meetings
    
3. Involve Subcontractors
    
4. Some of the topics that will be important in the execution of this contract are:
   
   Traffic Control
   Personnel protection in excavations over 4'
   Confined space entry clearances
   Material handling
   Working around mechanized equipment, especially backhoes
   Trenching Operations
   Personal Protective Equipment
   Operation of contractor vehicles on a military installation
   Lockout and tagging procedures
   
    
5. Conduct monthly supervisory safety meetings.
   
6. Review and discuss the hazard analysis plan for each phase of work.
   
7. Establish and maintain a plan for the storage and handling of hazardous materials.
   
8. Maintain a first aid log in the field office trailer immediately adjacent to the first aid kit.

Should an accident occur, we immediately notify the government verbally. We prepare an accident report to the Government within the time specified in EM 385-1-1. We analyze the hazardous analysis plan for that phase of work and revise it in an attempt to avoid the hazard which contributed to the accident, as appropriate. We discuss the accident in detail at the next tool box safety meeting and monthly supervisory safety meeting. We make a major attempt to insure that we don’t make the same mistake a second time.

Quality Control

Webb Electric Company is dedicated to providing the government with quality projects which meet the contract specifications. We recognize that more and more Government agencies are switching from awarding to the lowest bidder to awarding to the contractor that provides the best value to the Government. We have always taken pride in the fact that we were welcomed back at the vast majority of the installations on which we have previously performed work. Webb Electric Company has made the management commitment to concentrate a major part of our procurement effort on negotiated, best value type procurement actions. In the world of negotiated procurement it is absolutely essential that we provide quality products and workmanship to our customers. For this, and other reasons, we commit to providing the Government with nothing less than what is required by the contract documents. If we deviate from the specifications we get approval ahead of time and make it very clear to the government what we intend to do and why.

We are convinced that if we start with materials that comply with the contract documents, or approved deviations, and we follow the three-phase inspection system, then we attain and maintain the high degree of success and customer satisfaction required to be competitive. Our company recognizes that quality originates in the shop drawing preparation, review and approval process. It is impossible to end up with a quality project if quality materials are not delivered to the project site. We know, from painful experiences, that it is detrimental to the schedule if major components must be sent back to the factory for the correction of deficiencies. Therefore, our Project Managers and Quality Control Managers will check all material submittals for compliance with the contract specifications prior to forwarding them to the Government. Even though the Quality Control Manager is the person officially responsible for quality, it is our position that the Project Manager is ultimately responsible for providing materials that meet the specifications. Webb Electric Company's management system is set up such that the Project Manager sees the shop drawings and submittals before the Quality Control Manager does. So he has the first opportunity to review the submittals for compliance. If he does his job we know that we will likely avoid unnecessary resubmissions and loss of time months down the road. On the other hand, if only minor deviations are necessary, the Project Manager takes the first step in seeing that proposed deviations are documented, flagged and their need is justified.