SBA Communications Vice President of Risk Management David Sams, left, and Sr. Director of Risk Management Nick Wilkerson announced the 100 days milestone today.
In 1989 when SBA Communications was the nation’s first company to actively build and acquire towers the company entered unchartered waters but was fully aware of the 1986 requirement to maintain their OSHA 200 log of recordable injuries and illness and maintain a safe environment for their employees.
But as Boca Raton, Florida-based SBA staffed up over the years to provide corporate personnel and construction workers to build new sites and provide services to other clients, there were recordable incidents as expected and injury-free days varied, peaking at an enviable 75 days last year.
Today, SBA announced that it had reached 100 days without a recordable incident which is admirable for a company that has 1,036 employees in the U.S., 243 of them working in the field. SBA also employs 428 international workers to service its global portfolio.
SBA Vice President of Risk Management David Sams informed Wireless Estimator that it was a company-wide effort to reduce workday incidents, noting that it was Sr. Director of Risk Management Nick Wilkerson and his team that provided the training and instilled a company culture that resulted in the 100 days record.
Sams said he is confident that COVID-19 helped play an unwitting part in keeping workers safer.
“We emphasized the need to observe social distancing for our field personnel and other CDC requirements that when enforced creates a healthier environment for workers,” he said.
OSHA’s Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR/TRIR) is defined as the number of work-related injuries per 100 full-time employees during a one year period.
It is used by OSHA and risk management professionals to monitor high-risk industries. The average in construction typically is at 3.0. Sams said that SBA’s was .79.
OSHA requires companies with 10 or more full time employees to fill out OSHA Form 300, the latest log that was introduced in 2002.
How does OSHA define a recordable injury or illness?
- Any work-related fatality.
- Any work-related injury or illness that results in loss of consciousness, days away from work, restricted work, or transfer to another job.
- Any work-related injury or illness requiring medical treatment beyond first aid.
- Any work-related diagnosed case of cancer, chronic irreversible diseases, fractured or cracked bones or teeth, and punctured eardrums.