Where Safety Meets
Quality in Craftsmanship

More than ever, safety standards are evolving at a rapid pace, and with the work of an industrial contractor changing from Federal to Local Municipalities daily, safe production can only be reinforced with the support of a strong safety culture. We value the well-being of our employees; they are our most valuable asset. Which is why even as a small contractor, we have elected the highest quality safety personnel to oversee our program and it's operations. We promise to continue to set the Burke Electric standard high in order to maintain effortless regulation transitions between jobsites, as well as meet the safety needs of our clients. We know what it takes to start from scratch and build something that works for a company, and not against the budget and schedule.

Walk-the-Walk

What Safety Culture Means at Burke Electric

In a world where the term "Safety Culture" is synonymous with best practice, what does it actually mean to have good "safety culture"? At Burke, we like to use the phrase: "We aren't simply going to Talk-the-Talk, we are going to Walk-the-Walk", this is what safety culture means to us.

Adapting to changes in safety regulations is essential to the integrity of a good safety program; and in 2013 when we decided that our program didn’t meet our company’s needs, we re-built our program from the ground up. We knew what it meant to have superior quality in craftsmanship; we decided that Burke needed a safety program that followed suit. On our safety journey, this is what we have learned so far:

Safety doesn’t take place on paper, it takes place in real-world applications. Our written program should consider regulation as well as feasibility and reconcile them both accordingly.

2

Support must come from the top-down, cooperation and buy-in from the field, and commitment from all employees across the board.

Policy and culture can only thrive simultaneously when the approach to safety is practical, and goals are attainable. Success must be accessible.

Social dynamic change requires that all team members are educated on what it means to be individually responsible for each other's safety.

5

Safety education must go beyond the day-to-day practice and should include an understanding of incident rates and the big picture of how safety affects all levels of the company

On our journey, we have built an award-winning safety program with true safety culture that is the core of this company. We took our experience factor (EMR) to the lowest possible rating in our risk class where it has remained since 2019, and continue to find innovative ways to redefine how a safety program can work for a company.

Safety Program Overview

Accident Prevention Program

Fully comprehensive Accident Prevention Program that is both practical and application based, with a focus on Site Specific details. Meets regulations set for by OSHA, DOSH, King County DNRP, Seattle City Light, EM-385-1-1(USACE), And RHSH (USBR) standard. Job Hazard Analysis and daily activity hazard analysis. Weekly Walkthrough Inspections and Monthly Safety Manager Job Walks. Annual review of APP including Accident and incident reporting including Near Miss. Return to work and Light Duty program as well as third party claims management through Aspire Consulting (contracted through ABC Retro).

Drug Free Workplace Policies

Burke Electric is a union hiring contractor that subscribes to the subsidiary drug free workplace programs prescribed accordingly in the 10+ locals we currently hire out of. Burke ELectric also conducts an in house drug testing program to meet the standards set forth by the NECA drig free workplace program for all locals not currently subscribed to a program, in order to ensure adequate drug testing for all employees. This includes Pre-employment, random and reasonable suspicion drug testing. This also includes background checks and clearinghouse queries for CDL holding emoployees.

Infection Disease Control Plan and COVID-19 Exposure Control

This plan was developed utilizing the hierarchy of risk controls by means of: Identifying at risk projects or personnel, developing a plan, assigning responsibilities, and implementing the plan. This plan is a stable approach to attack the problem we face, not the people who may be affected by it. In an effort to focus on the greater good, which is to instill confidence in the future of this company, this plan’s focus is to remain vigilant on the offense of providing accurate and up to date information and resources to our employees.

Employee Safety Training

All employees have access to Burke University which is an online Safety Training platform hosted by Mastery Technologies. This Roster includes 20+ courses dedicated to various safety topics, including but not limited to:

Emergency Preparedness

Aerial Work Platforms

Bloodborne Pathogens

Crystalline Silica

H2S

Heat Stress

Lead Awareness

Asbestos Awareness

Electrical Safety

Ladders

Scaffolds

Active Shooter

Industrial Ergonomics

Lockout-Tagout

Energized Work

Welding Operations

All field employees are subject to a 9-course minimum safety curriculum which is refreshed annually.

Companywide Communication

Monthly newsletter with focused safety topic and dynamic employee training opportunities. Online Safety training with over 20 courses available at any time to all employees. Foreman and Safety Committee Meetings are held quarterly with a focus on real world issues on the job as well as more in-depth competent person training for supervisors. Weekly Toolbox Talks take place on all jobsites.

New Hire Process

Interview and Safety Orientation including COVID-19 Awareness training safety training for all field employees with annual refresher training. Orientation also includes review and acknowledgement of Employee Discipline Policy as well as Incident and Accident Procedures. Arc Flash Clothing program and training for Line Crew. All new hires are subject to pre-employment drug testing