We’re pleased to announce Gribbins has been recognized by Engineering News-Record (ENR) as an ENR Top 600 Specialty Contractor. According to ENR, this national distinction reflects our “Impressive Strength in the Market.” Congratulations to our entire team for helping us earn this honor.
Gribbins News
Annual Field Meetings Featured Local Flavor
This year, our Annual Field Meetings for Gribbins Insulation had a local focus, taking place at each field site during the months of August through October. The gatherings provided opportunities for management and field employees to share a meal as well as conversation. Topics discussed included company updates, upcoming projects, in addition to the status of both the union medical fund and the pension fund. Jim Gribbins, Founder and President, along with Area Managers, Safety Department personnel, and Vice Presidents were present at each event. Jim expressed his appreciation for all team members who attended.
Venues and Turnouts:
August 30: Lunch with the Lilly Team at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis (30 attendees)
August 30: Dinner with the Local 51 Team at the Louisville Bats game (20 attendees)
September 19: Evansville Team met for dinner in the Dakota Room at Gribbins Headquarters (60 attendees)
October 2: Marathon Team lunch in Robinson, Illinois (25 attendees)
October 2: Terre Haute Team dinner at the legendary Rick’s Smokehouse (25 attendees)
October 3: Calvert City Team dinner (20 attendees)
Indiana Governor’s Workplace Safety Award
On March 23, 2016, Gribbins Insulation was honored with the Indiana Governor’s Workplace Safety Award for Innovations in Construction. It is the fifth time since 2010 that Gribbins has received the award.
From the Indiana Department of Labor:
Employee involvement is the backbone of the company’s workplace safety and health efforts. Gribbins has demonstrated effective employee involvement in many areas that include its Surveying At-risk For Elimination Program or “SAFE” for short. Employees are introduced to SAFE during new hire orientation. Employees are trained to conduct observations while working in the field. The company also uses employee safety surveys to gain feedback on the company’s safety and health programs and efforts and to “test” employee knowledge of policies and procedures.
The company’s three-year total recordable case rate is nearly 84% below its national industry average.
The Governor’s Workplace Safety Awards were announced at the annual Safety and Health Conference and Exposition held at the Indiana Conference Center in Indianapolis. The awards were presented to 8 Hoosier companies by Indiana Department of Labor Commissioner Rick J. Ruble.
Commissioner Ruble emphasized, “There is no greater achievement as a business or organization than ensuring all employees go home safely at the end of the workday.”
Accepting the award from Commissioner Ruble were JD Smothers, Gribbins Vice President, and Trevor Atherton, Gribbins Safety Manager. A list of all winners can be found here.
Safety Manager to present at Indiana’s Largest Safety Conference
On Wednesday, March 23, 2016, Trevor Atherton, CSP, CHST, CRIS, will present at the 2016 Indiana Safety and Health Conference and Expo at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. Backed by the Central Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers and in partnership with INSafe/Indiana Department of Labor, the event is one of the largest safety conferences in the Midwest. To register, visit the official conference website: http://www.insafetyconf.com/
As the Safety Manager at Gribbins Insulation, the subject of Trevor’s Wednesday morning presentation will be “Behavior-Based Safety in Construction” including:
- Focus on a peer-to-peer behavior-based safety process
- Review the development phase of Gribbins Insulation’s behavior-based safety process to today
- How employees conduct observations and how the data gathered are relayed back to employees
See page 8 of the conference agenda.
Gribbins Insulation’s behavior-based safety process is known internally as “SAFE” – Surveying At-Risk for Elimination. Accredited by the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, this peer-to-peer behavior based safety observation program provides our safety department and management with insight into what employees are really seeing on the jobsites. Employees are trained how to complete the observations and earn safety incentive points for participation. The safety department documents and tracks all surveys, providing feedback to our field employees and management through monthly safety bulletins and the BBS Committee meeting, comprised of safety representatives and field personnel.
The SAFE program is just one part of Gribbins Insulation’s overall commitment to safety as a company value. With our dedicated safety manager and three safety coordinators, our safety program is one of the best in our industry. In addition to our many safety awards, our performance speaks volumes:
- EMR of 0.60 as of May 1, 2016
- EMR below .77 for over 15 years
- Zero Recordables in 2013
- Recordable Case Frequency Rate below 3.0 since 2002
Gribbins Leaders Featured on the Cover of EHS Today
Jim Gribbins, president and founder of Gribbins Insulation, Gribbins vice president Brian Willett, and Gribbins safety manager Trevor Atherton are featured on the cover of the June issue of EHS Today magazine. The trio was named to EHS Today’s annual top 50 Leaders list of the “individuals whom the editors of EHS Today feel had the most impact on occupational safety, health, the environment, and risk management in 2012-13.” The full article may be viewed online here.
EHS Today is the premier worker and workplace protection publication and digital resource for American safety managers, covering vital environmental, health and safety best practices and compliance information. It has been the leader in coverage of the safety and health industry since its inception more than 70 years ago. EHS Today’s annual 50 Leaders list, Future Leaders list, and America’s Safest Companies awards are respected highlights of the health and safety industry.
About Jim Gribbins, President and Founder
Since founding Gribbins Insulation in 1985, Jim Gribbins has led his company to success by focusing on the core values of integrity, safety, quality, productivity, and innovation. A graduate of the University of Evansville and a leader in the industry, Gribbins is actively involved in numerous associations including board member for the National Insulation Association; Trustee and Executive Committee member for the National Asbestos Workers Pension and Medical Funds; and Charter Member and Board Member for the National Union Insulation Contractors Alliance. The Gribbins Insulation safety program has been honored with more than 25 safety awards since 2010. Jim Gribbins was selected as one of the National Safety Council’s 2012 CEOs Who Get It, along with the CEOs of Dow Chemical and Georgia Pacific.
About Brian Willett, Vice President
Brian Willett has more than ten years of success managing all types of commercial and industrial insulation projects during his tenure at Gribbins Insulation. After gaining experience as safety manager, purchasing manager and estimating manager, Willett was promoted to Vice President in 2008. With a Master of Science in Occupational Safety and Health from Indiana State University, Willett developed the original, extensive Gribbins safety program and works directly with the current Safety Manager to continue its evolution as one of the best in the industry. 2013 awards include the MICCS “Crystal Eagle”; the Indiana Governor’s Workplace Safety Award; and the National Insulation Association Platinum Award.
Trevor Atherton, Safety Manager
As Gribbins Safety Manager since 2007, Trevor Atherton, Associate Safety Professional, has helped build the Gribbins safety program into one of the best in the industry. With a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management from Indiana University and multiple safety certifications and licenses, Atherton manages a team of five full-time safety coordinators, conducts new hire orientations, audits safety data and statistics, and routinely updates the Gribbins safety manual and policies. His efforts have brought much honor to Gribbins Insulation including local, state, and national safety awards as well as OSHA VPP Star Status at Gribbins’s Marathon jobsite in Illinois. Under Atherton’s leadership, Gribbins employees have worked without a single lost-time accident since October 2007.
Gribbins Wins the Crystal Eagle!
Gribbins Insulation was honored by the Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction Safety Inc. (MICCS) with the 2013 Excellence in Safety Award, better known in industry circles as the coveted “Crystal Eagle.” Gribbins Safety Manager Trevor Atherton accepted the award at the 20th annual MICCS Awards Banquet on May 2, 2013, at the Indiana Convention Center Sagamore Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.
Indiana construction companies of all sizes submit applications for the prestigious MICCS awards program, which then compete in categories with their peers. Each category winner is recognized as a Safety Leader and is then in contention for the “Crystal Eagle.” Gribbins Insulation, a MICCS-IDOL Certified Partner and the Safety Leader winner in the “Trade Partner Over 300,000 Hours” category, was chosen from the five Safety Leader winners for MICCS’s highest honor. As one judge stated, Gribbins Insulation won the Crystal Eagle because “they are taking behavioral safety to another level.”
Gribbins Insulation president and founder Jim Gribbins stated, “As an Indiana contractor for almost 30 years, we appreciate MICCS recognition of our program as a state leader. Our employees place safety in front of all actions, and this award honors each individual’s commitment.”
Gribbins Insulation consistently receives national recognition for its safety program. Other 2013 safety awards include the Indiana Governor’s Workplace Safety Award for Safety Innovation and the Platinum Safety Award from the National Insulation Association, the highest honor from the national trade association for mechanical insulation. In 2011, Gribbins Insulation was honored as one of America’s Safest Companies by EHS Today, and in 2012, the National Safety Council selected Jim Gribbins, president and founder, as one of eight CEO’s Who Get It.
The Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction Safety, Inc. (MICCS) is dedicated to the elimination of construction and facilities maintenance jobsite injuries and illnesses with the ultimate objective of returning construction and maintenance workers home to their families, friends, and communities free from harm. Learn more at www.miccs.org.
Click here to review a full list of Gribbins Insulation’s safety awards.
Contact Megan Knoll, Director of Marketing, with any questions.
