Perini pledges to boost training, assess site safety

Las Vegas Sun

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Perini Building Co. made a rare public statement Tuesday about safety concerns at its Strip construction sites, which include CityCenter and Cosmopolitan. Workers ended a one-day walkout at those sites late Tuesday.

The company’s statement was its first to the Las Vegas Sun since the newspaper’s report in March on Strip construction deaths.

Perini’s statement:

Perini Building Company considers safety its highest priority. Recent incidents on our Las Vegas projects are a major concern, and we are committed to collaboration with building trades, subcontractors and suppliers to continuously improve our safety efforts for all of our operations.

Our policy has been to provide OSHA 10 (-hour) training to all supervisory employees on Perini’s current Las Vegas projects. We have agreed with the Building Trades Council and local unions to identify all trades employees working at the CityCenter and Cosmopolitan job sites who have not already completed OSHA 10 training and to make such training available during work hours to all current trade employees on-site.

In addition, Perini has agreed to work with the Building Trades Council’s Center for Construction Research & Training in conducting work site safety assessments for both the MGM Mirage CityCenter and Cosmopolitan project sites. As always, we will continue to allow union officials and safety professionals access to our projects.

These measures will serve to supplement and enhance our existing unprecedented comprehensive safety efforts, particularly in Las Vegas. Some of the processes already in place include:

• Senior management job site safety meetings (bi-monthly) with craft work force by project.

• Pretask planning for all contractors and processes.

• Enhanced safety orientation for all new hires.

• Skill level assessment and process-specific training for all field personnel.

• Personnel hoist maintenance and training process.

• Participation in the Ironworkers Advisory Board.

• Quarterly safety meetings with the Building Trades Union.

• Retention of Global Safety Management (outside safety consultant).

• Weekly superintendent meetings to review current and historical incidents and corrective actions plans.

• Weekly job site logistics meetings with supervisory personnel and with Las Vegas Fire Department.

• Monthly job site safety survey by Subcontractor Safety Directors.

As the leader in the Nevada construction industry, Perini maintains its unwavering commitment to the construction industry and to the community to provide safe work sites.