August 20, 2015 – Barton Malow Construction Services, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) signed a formal partnership with the goal of zero worker injuries, accidents and near misses during the construction of a gas turbine electric power generation facility in Holland.
The facility is a two-on-one combined cycle power plant producing electricity from two combustion turbines and one steam turbine, which are connected to individual generators. It will harness the exhaust gasses produced from the combustion turbines in the heat recovery steam generators to power the steam turbine, creating additional electricity and making the facility more economical. The plant will generate approximately 125 megawatts of electricity – enough to power approximately 125,000 homes. The plant’s design also allows the hot water byproduct to be used in the pre-existing snowmelt infrastructure in downtown Holland.
The facility resembles more than the average power plant. With a heavy emphasis on the architectural design and positive community influence, when complete, the plant will be deemed an energy park.
Construction officially began in February of 2015 and is expected to be completed in early 2017.
“MIOSHA congratulates Barton Malow for its elevated standards of safety and health,” said MIOSHA Director Martha Yoder. “The agency is proud to partner with a company so dedicated to providing the highest level of worker protection on the construction of this new facility.”
Signing partners included Yoder and Barton Malow Vice President Joe Benvenuto, West Michigan Building Trades President Mark Mangione, and representatives from M.J. Electric and Progressive Mechanical, Inc.
“Partnership lies deep in our core values at Barton Malow,” said Benvenuto. “The Holland Power Plant Project is a model example of what can be accomplished through true partnership and collaboration. To date, we have had great success with partnering with our owner, the local community, our local union trades, and our suppliers and subcontractors. This MIOSHA partnership provides the most important piece of collaboration, which is to keep our people safe. Barton Malow looks forward to a successful project and partnership.”
Partnerships are an important emphasis in the MIOSHA Strategic Plan to improve the health and safety of workers through cooperative relationships.
The safety and health of the construction project’s employees is fundamental to this partnership with MIOSHA. The leadership of Barton Malow, partnering contractors, LARA and MIOSHA are aligned and committed to achieving the objective of worker protection by providing a workplace with an effective safety management system that is hazard-free.
All partners agree to commit their leadership, time and resources to achieve this valuable goal.
Partnering employers include:
- Progressive Mechanical
- M.J. Electric
- Motor City Electric
- Ideal Contracting
Supporting partners also include the Holland Board of Public Works, Zachry Engineering, and Progressive AE.
Key elements of the site-specific safety and health program for reconstruction include:
- 100 percent personal protective equipment.
- Mandatory attendance to a project safety orientation.
- All crane operators will be Certified Crane Operators (CCO) as recognized by National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) and other recognized certification agencies.
- Mandatory pre-work substance abuse testing.
- Mandatory post-accident substance abuse testing.
- Pre-task plans are to be completed prior to shift and used to document any changing conditions.
- Contractors shall provide a competent and/or qualified person for work operations as identified by a MIOSHA standards and/or Barton Malow.
- Barton Malow and the partnering employers on this project will uniformly enforce a disciplinary action plan for employees who fail to work in a safe manner. Automatic dismissal from this project shall result from any willful or deliberate violation of safety rules or safety policies and procedures.
“The MIOSHA program is dedicated to partnering with employers to persistently advance Michigan’s workplace safety and health,” said Martha Yoder. “These partnerships offer employers a voluntary, cooperative relationship with the agency to help eliminate serious hazards and achieve significant safety and health management goals.”
The partnership does not preclude MIOSHA from enforcing its mission of addressing complaints, fatalities, or serious accidents, nor does it infringe on the rights of employees to report workplace hazards.
Barton Malow Company provides construction services for a variety of delivery methods, as well as capabilities to increase safety, quality and productivity of its projects through the ability to self-perform trades and technology. It leads North America as one of the top performing, full service engineering, procurement and construction contractors in market specialties such as energy and industrial. Within the energy market, Barton Malow builds new generation, renewable and air quality control systems.
Barton Malow also builds innovative solutions through engaging cutting-edge technologies, like building information modeling, augmented reality, jobsite connectivity and cloud collaboration applied to our work every day. Its team includes 1,800 people throughout 12 offices and is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan. For more information about Barton Malow, visit www.bartonmalow.com.
