Team Fishel Values:
To Be Accident Free

Team Fishel's most important value is to Be Accident Free. That translates to zero Teammate injuries, motor vehicle accidents or job damages. While it is easy to say that accidents will happen in construction, striving for perfection should be the only goal when we are talking about our Teammates' safety. To be Accident Free requires a commitment, belief, and - most importantly - an attitude that perfection is obtainable.

Team Fishel values safety because of all the ways that safety pays. First and foremost, safety pays by providing a work environment that keeps our Teammates healthy and productive. We all must work to earn a living and to support our families. To risk our well-being by doing something unsafe threatens our ability to provide for ourselves and those we love.

Second, by reducing or eliminating accidents we reduce our costs. For example, when a Teammate is involved in an at-fault truck accident, not only is Team Fishel responsible for the cost of repairs to all vehicles involved, we are also responsible for any medical costs that result from the accident. As you can imagine, these costs can be very high. And, there are always costs involved when Teammates are injured on the job or when Team Fishel is responsible for damaging property or an existing utility that had or should have been located.

Being safe makes us more competitive for new work opportunities in two different ways. First, the more accidents we have the worse our experience becomes. This means we must include the additional cost for accidents in our bids, which makes us less competitive in a bidding process.

An effective safety program also makes us more competitive because many of our existing and potential customers want work to be completed by a quality contractor that values safety. Many customers today prequalify contractors based upon the performance of their safety program.

Last – but certainly not least – Team Fishel pays every Teammate for being safe through the Cash Profit Sharing Plan. One-third of every dollar that is not spent on an accident is put into the profit sharing pool to be distributed as cash to our Teammates.

So you want to know how to be Accident Free, right? One way to make a positive contribution is to develop the attitude and belief that accidents can and should be avoided.

What drives cost in a safety program, both financial and human, are the serious accidents. Typically, 90% of Team Fishel’s safety costs are generated from less than 10% of accidents. Studies show that the most serious accidents are more likely to occur in an environment with the greatest frequency of occurrences. The key to successful safety performance is to focus on reducing the frequency of accidents. Accepting the attitude that "accidents will happen" is an admission that you are willing to run the risk of something serious happening. This is not a risk or a value Team Fishel will support.

Again, the most important Team Fishel value is to Be Accident Free. To accept and live that value requires you to commit – but more importantly believe – that obtaining perfection in safety by eliminating accidents is not just a great goal, but one that is truly obtainable. Accepting anything less is a losing proposition.