Archive for the ‘Gribbins News’ Category

Gribbins Insulation Wins Five Safety Awards in a Month

From October 26, 2011, to November 17, 2011, Gribbins Insulation received five safety awards from four different organizations.

Gribbins Insulation’s many safety awards reflect the company’s commitment to an effective safety program.  As stated by Jim Gribbins, President and Founder, “There is absolutely no task that is so important that we might consider sacrificing safety, to even the slightest degree, in an effort to perform the task.”  Most recently, the Indiana Construction Association (ICA) honored Gribbins with two awards – the Gold Summit Award and the Pinnacle Safety Award.

The ICA annually recognizes Indiana contractors and subcontractors for their safety achievements.  At the annual membership meeting in Indianapolis on November 17, 2011, Gribbins Insulation received the Gold Summit Safety Award along with eight other contractors.  This is the fourth consecutive year the ICA has honored Gribbins with the Gold Summit Award.  From the nine recipients, Gribbins was also chosen by the ICA Selection Committee for their highest safety award, the Pinnacle Safety Award, as the overall leader in construction employee safety.  Gribbins received this award previously in 2009.

Jim Gribbins and Trevor Atherton, with Gold Summit and Pinnacle Safety Awards

The ICA Safety Awards Program recognizes general contractors, prime contractors, construction managers and subcontractors for their commitment to excellence in employee and jobsite safety. Employees and supervisors of contractors and subcontractors throughout Indiana vying for this award were confidentially surveyed to test how well the company’s safety program is understood and implemented.  This allows the Committee to select companies whose safety programs are both well written and effectively implemented on the jobsite.  Read more: http://news.inconstruction.org/November2011/111130/ICA_Safety_Awards_Newsletter_Article.pdf

Earlier in the fall, Gribbins Insulation received safety honors from three other national organizations committed to the pursuit of safety excellence.

October 26: At the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee (NMAPC) gave the Zero Injury Safety Awards to companies with zero recordable injuries at jobsites in 2010.  Gribbins was recognized for work at three different jobsites, totaling over 194,000 hours worked without injuries.  Read more: http://www.nmapc.org/zisa/

October 31: EHS Today named Gribbins one of the 2011 America’s Safest Companies at the award ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along with only twelve other companies, including Fluor Enterprises and Caterpillar Inc.  Gribbins was the second smallest company honored.  Read more: http://ehstoday.com/safety/management/americas_safest_companies_0111/

November 8: The Construction Users Roundtable (CURT), an association of large construction users including Procter & Gamble and Duke Energy, chose Gribbins Insulation as a winner of the Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) Award during the national conference in Phoenix, Arizona.  Applications were accepted from CURT members throughout the United States and Canada.  Read more: http://www.curt.org/Awards-Safety-CISE-Awards.aspx

In alphabetical order, Gribbins Insulation won the following safety awards in 2011:

• Construction User’s Roundtable (CURT) Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) Award
• EHS Today’s list of America’s Safest Companies
• Indiana Construction Association (ICA) Gold Summit Award
• Indiana Construction Association (ICA) Pinnacle Award
• Indiana Governor’s Workplace Safety Award for Overall Safety in Construction
• Marathon Petroleum Company Illinois Refining Division Manager’s Contractor Safety Excellence Award
• Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction Safety (MICCS) Safety Achievement Award
• National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee (NMAPC) Zero Recordable Injury Certificate of Merit – for three different jobsites
• The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) Thomas J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Construction Safety

June is National Safety Month

Each June, the National Safety Council sponsors National Safety Month to help companies raise safety awareness.  As a member of the National Safety Council and a company devoted to safety, we want to educate our employees on all the resources available from the National Safety Council during the month of June.

Each week carries a theme that brings attention to critical safety issues.  The themes for 2011 are listed below.  Click on each link to learn more about that subject:

Week 1: June 1 to 4  Summertime Safety

Week 2: June 5 to 11  Preventing Overexertion

Week 3: June 12 to 18  Teen Driving Safety

Week 4:  June 19 to 25  Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls

Week 5:  June 26 to 30  On the Road, Off the Phone

Summer Safety

The goal of National Safety Month is to raise a public awareness of safety.  June also is an appropriate month to focus efforts on summer safety, as this season is traditionally a time of increased unintentional injuries, both on and off the job.  Each Friday during June, we will post Summer Safety Tip Sheets from the National Safety Council on the Gribbins Facebook page.

To kick off National Safety Month, here is the first tip sheet:   Safe Bicycling

FREE Online Standard First Aid, CPR and AED Course

Register HERE by June 7!

Offered in conjunction with National CPR/AED Awareness Week, the course’s first aid topics include bleeding, wound care, shock, burns, serious injuries, fractures, and sprains.  The four-hour course also teaches the latest method of CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator, as well as how to help a person who is choking.

Take advantage of this free course and encourage your family members and friends to sign up too!  You must register by June 7, and then you will have 45 days to complete the course.

FREE Webinar:  How can I keep my teen driver safe?

Register now for this free webinar from the National Safety Council.

Monday June 13, 2011
11am Central Time
Noon Eastern Time

The webinar, hosted by Deborah Trombley, Senior Program Manager for the National Safety Council, will answer such questions as:  Why should parents ban teen passengers when their teen is driving?  Should siblings be allowed to ride with your teen driver?  What time of night is the right time for you to have your teen driver return home?  They will also share what behaviors contribute to the greatest number of teen driving crashes and how parents and teens can work together to reduce crash risk.

Gribbins Insulation’s core values are: integrity, safety, quality, productivity, and innovation.  We hope that you will participate in National Safety Month by reviewing the resources on the NSC website,  reading the weekly summer safety tip sheets, participating in the FREE CPR course and webinar, and encouraging your friends and family to do the same.  We value our employees, and we want them to “think safety” on and off the job.

Quality Control Craftsman Introduced at Duke Energy

On March 1, 2011, Gribbins Insulation and the International  Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers introduced the “Quality Control Craftsman” (QCC) for the duration of their work at Duke Energy’s new IGCC power plant in Edwardsport, Indiana.  Gribbins Insulation partnered with the International to establish the QCC position at the Duke jobsite, which supports the “Professional Craftsman Code of Conduct” (PCCC) among all union insulators.

According to James Grogan, General President of the International, the PCCC program “establishes standards of conduct to be embraced by every member of our union both on and off the jobsite.  The standards apply to safety practices, quality of work, and dedication to professionalism.”  To ensure compliance with all aspects of the PCCC, Local 37’s executive board, including Business Manager Pat Barron Jr.,  established the special QCC position at the Edwardsport jobsite.  The QCC, Steve Gaiser, works full-time at the Duke jobsite to reinforce the standards of the PCCC on a daily basis among all insulators, reporting directly to Local 37’s executive board.  For more information, visit the International’s QCC website at http://www.insulators.org/QCC/main/index.asp.

Gribbins Insulation is committed to its core values of integrity, safety, quality, productivity, and innovation.  This partnership with the International to establish the QCC position at a jobsite is a first for a Gribbins Insulation project.  Representatives of Gribbins Insulation, Local 37, and Duke Energy were present for the introduction of the PCCC program and QCC position in Edwardsport.

Top row: Cost Control Specialist Jamie Waldroup, Safety Coordinator Rick Jordan, Duke Construction Coordinator Ric Grimmer, Jeremy Littrell, Fit Tight Covers Design Specialist Calvin Brasel, Gary Green, QCC Steve Gaiser, Mike Bradley, Mark Laubscher

Bottom row: Gribbins Vice President Brian Willett, General Foreman Nathan Schiff, Derek Beck, Construction Manager David Mills, Gribbins President Jim Gribbins, Local 37 Business Manager Pat Barron Jr., Adam Goebel, Jake Jordan, John Staalenburg, Andy Kraus

Gribbins Insulation’s commitment to quality and safety has been recognized consistently by state and national organizations.  View a list of all of our awards here.

Gribbins Insulation wins Indiana Governor’s Workplace Safety Award

Gribbins Insulation was honored with the 2011 Governor’s Workplace Safety Award for Overall Safety in Construction.  The award was presented at the Indiana Safety and Health Conference and Exposition (Feb. 28 to March 2), during the Governor’s Workplace Safety Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at the Indianapolis Marriott East.

Safety Manager Trevor Atherton and Indiana Commissioner of Labor Lori A. Torres

The annual Governor’s Workplace Safety Awards are a result of a partnership among the Indiana Department of Labor, Governor Mitch Daniels, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and the Central Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers.  All Hoosier businesses, unions, municipalities, schools, service organizations, and nonprofit organizations were eligible to apply for the awards, regardless of size or number of employees.  Learn more at the Indiana Department of Labor’s website.

Indiana Commissioner of Labor Lori A. Torres presented the award to Trevor Atherton, Safety Manager for Gribbins Insulation. According to Ms. Torres, “Gribbins Insulation has shown a tremendous commitment to the safety and health of its employees and the community.  Through forward thinking and responsiveness, [Gribbins Insulation] has created an efficient, progressive answer to workplace safety and health issues.”

Gribbins Insulation is honored to be recognized in this elite class of Hoosier businesses.  In addition to winning the 2011 Governor’s Workplace Safety Award for Overall Safety in Construction, Gribbins Insulation has won the following safety awards over the past year:

• Indiana Construction Association (ICA) Gold Summit Safety Award
• Marathon Division Manager’s Contractor Safety Excellence Award
• Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction Safety (MICCS) Safety Leader Award (Specialty Contractor) and Safety Achievement Award
• National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee (NMAPC) Zero Recordable Injury Certificate of Merit
• National Safety Council (NSC) Occupational Excellence Achievement Award
• The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) Thomas J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Construction Safety

For the most up-to-date news on Gribbins Insulation, follow us on Facebook.

Gribbins Insulation 2010 Safety Awards

This year, Gribbins Insulation has many reasons to be thankful.  In our 25th year, we are celebrating our status as a leader in construction safety through the recognition of several state and national organizations.

1. MICCS Safety Leader Award (Specialty Contractor) and Safety Achievement Award: On April 15, 2010, the Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction Safety (MICCS) announced that Gribbins Insulation had the top safety program among Specialty Contractors in Indiana and recognized us as a 2010 MICCS Safety Leader Award Winner.
2. TAUC Thomas J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Construction Safety: On May 12, 2010, The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) honored us with the Thomas J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Construction Safety and Health during their 2010 Leadership Conference.  We won this award for the 3rd consecutive year for achieving a zero DART rate (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred) for the 300,000+ hours we worked in 2009.
3. NMAPC Zero Injury Certificate of Merit: On October 28, 2010, at the Zero Injury Safety Awards Gala in Washington, DC, the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee (NMAPC) honored us and other contractors with injury-free work records during 2009 with the Zero Recordable Injury Certificate of Merit for the 2nd year in a row.
4. ICA Gold Summit Award: On November 18, 2010, for the third consecutive year, the Indiana Construction Association (ICA) recognized our safety program as the best among Building Subcontractors with under 300,000 hours in Indiana, and honored us with the Gold Summit Award.
5. NSC Occupational Excellence Award: The National Safety Council (NSC) issues annual achievement certificates to all companies satisfying certain safety criteria over the calendar year.  Gribbins Insulation is proud to be a 2-year honoree of the National Safety Council Occupational Excellence Award.

As one of Gribbins Insulation’s corporate values, Safety is at the heart of every action and every decision made in the office and in the field.  Congratulations to our safety department and field employees for another year of safe work.

One Million Hours without a Lost Time Accident

Gribbins Insulation’s first priority on every job site is safety, and this dedication has resulted in a major milestone.  As of June 1, 2010, we have worked 1,000,000 consecutive hours without a lost time accident.  These accident-free hours have been logged since October 2007 – two and a half years of no lost time!

Our safety manager, Trevor Atherton, believes that the success of our safety program is due primarily to excellent communication.  As he said, “From the office to the field employees, the importance of safety is continually emphasized, and our President, Jim Gribbins, is fully dedicated.”  According to Trevor, this communication begins with the interactive new hire training program.  As Trevor explains, “We do not just show a video or open a book.  Our new hires have the opportunity to review the manual with the trainer and ask questions.  This focused time and attention ensures understanding and reinforces our commitment to safety with every employee.”

Our field employees are the ones who live and breathe our safety program each and every day.  Tony Barnes, an insulator for over 15 years, feels that the best part of the Gribbins Insulation Safety Program is that we “genuinely care about the safety of employees and making sure everyone gets home safe. “  He adds, “The safety program is not just something in writing at Gribbins.  There is a true commitment to work and live safely.”  Rick Beck has been an insulator for over 20 years, and his favorite part about our safety program is simple: “I like the fact that it’s successful – Gribbins stresses the importance of safety and it works.”

For more information on our safety program and incentives, click here.

Duke Energy Power Plant in Edwardsport, Indiana

Since our founding in 1985, we have seen continued growth and are now proud to be the largest insulation contractor in the Tri-State. Much of this growth over the past 25 years has stemmed from the opportunity to participate in high-value local projects like Duke Energy’s new power plant. At a time when most companies are cutting back, Duke is creating jobs and opportunities with a huge project right in our backyard. In February 2010, we learned that Duke chose us for nearly all the mechanical insulation work required for the new plant.  This is our largest job to date.

Duke Energy recognizes the benefits of local contractors. By choosing a contractor like Gribbins Insulation, Duke is taking advantage of our knowledge and experience working in the area with our local highly-trained union members. We know the area, we know the workers, we know how to get the job done. During construction over the next two years, the Edwardsport plant alone will employ up to 200 insulators at any one time, and this will be in addition to our usual work.

For more information on the new Duke power plant.

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2009 Pinnacle Safety Award

The Indiana Construction Association (ICA) recently selected seven Gold Summit Award winners for achievements in safety as best in their categories for 2009.  From the seven recipients, Gribbins Insulation Company, Inc. was chosen by the ICA Safety Program Awards Selection Committee for the ICA’s highest safety award: the Pinnacle Safety Award – representing the “Overall Leader in Construction Employee Safety.”

Employees and supervisors of contractors/subcontractors throughout Indiana vying for this award were confidentially surveyed to test how well the company’s safety program is understood and implemented.  ICA Director of Contractor Relations George Sheraw said, “Gribbins Insulation Company was clearly ranked best overall by the judges.  The judges commented that they were impressed by the consistent responses received from the confidential worker and supervisor surveys that were completed by the Gribbins Insulation company employees.”  One of the judges stated – “It’s clear that at Gribbins Insulation, they talk safety all day, every day.  From top to bottom they are committed to safety.”  By winning this award, we demonstrated that we have a well-written safety program that is understood by employees and effectively implemented on the job.

Safety Manager, Trevor Atherton and Vice President, Brian Willett accepted the award on November 19, 2009, at ICA’s annual membership meeting.  In February and March 2010, President Jim Gribbins, Vice President Brian Willett and Safety Manager Trevor Atherton held presentations and panel discussions for ICA members.  Visit our company page on Facebook to see pictures from these events.

About ICA
The Indiana Construction Association (ICA) is the state’s largest and oldest construction trade association. The core purpose of ICA is to enhance the image, well-being, economic stability, and political strength of the Indiana construction industry for the success of its membership. ICA represents more than 315 member firms employing more than 45,000 workers.  For more information, visit ICA’s website.

25 Year Anniversary

On April 1, 1985, Gribbins Insulation opened its doors for business in a green building near downtown Evansville, Indiana.  The entire operation consisted of Jim Gribbins as estimator, Leslee Gribbins as receptionist, and three insulators in the field.

Now at our third building in Evansville, we have seen tremendous growth over the past 25 years.  Among our five locations in Indiana and Kentucky, we employ over 30 office staff and average about 150 insulators in the field.  Over the past 10 years, we have completed projects in Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, and even the Bahamas.  Our participation in industry associations has introduced us to a broad network of industry support, and we are proud to be the largest insulation contractor in the Tri-State area.

We have performed work on the following projects:

• Abengoa Ethanol Facility – Mt. Vernon, IN
• Cardinal Station FGD – Brilliant, OH
• Casino Aztar – Evansville, IN
• Duke Energy IGCC  Project – Edwardsport, IN
• Marathon Petroleum -  Robinson, IL
• Old National Bank – New Headquarters in Evansville, IN
• St. John’s River Power Plant – Jacksonville, FL
• Toyota Plant – Princeton, IN
• University of Evansville Ridgway Center and Koch Engineering Center
• University of Louisville Arena – Louisville, KY

Our founder and President, Jim Gribbins, holds Gribbins Insulation to the highest standards of excellence, and we are proud to put our name on our jobs. We continue on our mission to “maximize customer satisfaction by providing the highest level of safety, quality and productivity leading to the optimum employee fulfillment and company profit.”