Petticoat-Schmitt Awarded Platinum Level of Utility Construction Industry Safety Program

Safety is a vital component of every utility construction jobsite and employee activity. The National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) announced that Petticoat-Schmitt Civil Contractors finished the NUCA STAR safety program. The company has completed the association’s new safety program enhancing and recognizing this critical aspect of utility construction.

NUCA’s new STAR (Safety, Training, Awareness and Recognition) Program provides a venue for every company in the utility construction industry to measure the effectiveness of their safety programs and recognize how these important company programs can be improved.

Petticoat-Schmitt Civil Contractors, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla. achieved the STAR Program’s top Platinum Level status. The company is both a NUCA National and a NUCA of North Florida member.

“Congratulations to Petticoat-Schmitt,” said Mike Flowers, NUCA’s director of safety, training, and education. “Our NUCA STAR winners show strong dedication to creating and managing world-class safety programs on their jobsites. Through their commitment to jobsite safety, their leadership ensures that their employees make it home safely when the working day is through.”

“Petticoat-Schmitt’s safety program is a shining example of a company that puts an emphasis on safety. Their heavy involvement with NUCA and NUCA’s Safety Committee just re-enforces the dedication the Petticoat-Schmitt puts into its own employee and jobsite safety programs,” said Flowers.

“We’re proud and honored to be a NUCA STAR Platinum recipient,” said Kirk Blomgren, vice president of safety at Petticoat-Schmitt. “Benchmarking ourselves against our NUCA partners and raising awareness to better practices in the industry are qualities that make NUCA’s safety programs great!”

The STAR Program categories of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum allow companies to review their processes and evaluate their safety programs’ strengths and potential areas of improvement in the critical areas that provide a lasting path to safety success. Evaluation areas are Leadership, Records Management, Culture, and Procedures. Under these four core areas are subsections scored on a point system meeting specific guidelines that a company must meet for each category.

Winners at all levels are chosen by the STAR review board based on their submissions following the STAR Program guidelines. The overall winner in the top Platinum category for this year will be announced at the NUCA Safety / Damage Prevention Conference in Denver, Colorado, to be held November 17-18, 2022.

NUCA’s website (www.nuca.com/nucastar) contains detailed information on NUCA STAR Program guidelines, as well as the application process for NUCA members and non-members. The STAR Program was unveiled in June 2022 during Trench Safety Month and has already awarded several construction companies industry-wide recognition for their safety programs.

All participants who attain one of the four levels of the STAR Program are recognized as companies who are sincere in their efforts to build effective programs and are to be commended for their participation in ensuring the safety of their employees.

The goal of this program is to help industry members master one of the most essential functions of a successful company—safety–and to help ensure industry employees stay healthy and safe while they build our nation’s vital core infrastructure projects. Tags: NUCA STAR, Safety