eeping construction workers safe is not a proprietary issue. The safety committee at Associated General Contractors of Alaska, or AGC, now offers members and non-members access to a new and improved database housing a wide range of safety-related documents.
AGC made the switch to Procore Technologies’ construction safety database this summer. The new database is much more user-friendly than the previous software program, says AGC Events and Communications Coordinator Kimberley Gray.
“It is now much easier to upload new documents, update documents already in the database, and add new users as well,” Gray says.
“Documents include site-safety inspection forms, examples of standard operating procedures, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulatory information,” says Brandi Neuterman, safety consultant and training manager for SafeLogic Alaska.
Neuterman is working with AGC to determine what documents the database will contain moving forward.
“It’s a free resource to help get a safety program up and running,” Neuterman says. “For established companies, it’s a great place to review and compare their program to what others in the industry may be doing. Companies can share their documents with others, which helps us all learn and grow.”
Access to the database is just a click away. Clicking on the Procore link sends an email to the AGC office requesting access.
“It’s that easy.” Neuterman says.
The free database is sponsored by Swalling General Contractors, LLC, ConocoPhillips, and Roger Hickel Contracting, Inc.
“As a nonprofit organization, AGC Alaska receives all of Procore’s tools for free,” says Montague. “These are a great resource for identifying and mitigating worksite hazards and streamlining jobsite communication into one cloud-based location, with the common goal of getting people home sooner to their loved ones at the end of the day.”
“We partner with our clients to ensure their understanding of the tools, as well as how to apply them in their day-to-day on the job,” Montague continues.
These tools will enable AGC to “understand, predict, and correct issues before they become a problem,” she adds.
“The goal of the AGC Safety Committee is to help smaller companies and subcontractors have access to as much safety data as possible. If we don’t, they’re going to be coming to my job and doing things that are unsafe,” Waggoner says. “They don’t have the training or can’t send their people to trainings like I get to go to.”
“The safety database is a place where large construction companies can dump libraries of templates, files, and P&Ps, scrubbed free of company names, logos, and mission statements,” says Samuel Cunard, health safety and environmental manager for Tikigaq Corporation, an Alaska Native village corporation in Point Hope.
Cunard gives the example of OSHA safety requirements for construction of a large military installation involving many subcontractors, one of which is hired to clean out a large fuel storage tank. That subcontractor is required to fill out all the necessary forms and can use the construction safety database to access a job hazard analysis form that identifies what the job is, what the hazards are, and indicates how the company is going to mitigate those hazards.
“All the crew will fill out and sign the form that says, ‘We’ll do this when this happens,’” Cunard says. “Then if someone falls down, you have that document.”
“The whole intent of the safety database is for a safer job scene,” explains Cunard, who has worked in construction health and safety in Alaska for more than thirty years.
“We cooperate with Procore on a host of things—for example, they recently sponsored us on our inaugural National Construction Industry Workforce Summit,” Turmail says.
A big initiative announced last September is Procore’s $250,000 challenge gift to AGC of America as seed money to provide scholarships for African American and other minority students studying construction at the nation’s historically black colleges and universities.
“We’re working to make sure our members raise at least that amount so we can put money towards this project,” Turmail says.
He sees these scholarships not just as an opportunity to diversify the workforce in the construction industry but to also diversify leadership ranks as well.
AGC of America also worked with the construction safety software company during the coronavirus pandemic, using its work performance data to help measure the impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry.
“COVID has turned the safety world upside down,” says Waggoner. “I deal with COVID every day—some days, all day long. It’s taken over what I do.”
Turmail sees Procore continuing to be a great partner.
AGC of America is interested in learning more about the safety database partnership with the Alaska chapter to see if that is something that could benefit members across the country, says Turmail.
“We’ll be watching it closely,” he says.