AZ Division of Occupational Safety and Health Presents Top Safety Designation to McCarthy Build

PHOENIX - Oct. 17, 2013 - PRLog -- The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) Consultation Department awarded McCarthy Building Companies with top safety designation, naming the $161 million Banner Estrella Hospital Expansion a “STAR Site” through the state’s Construction Voluntary Protection Program “C-VPP.”  ADOSH representatives conducted an audit of safety and health management systems and practices at the six-story, 279,000 square-foot tower project, which will serve the West Valley. The expansion project, which is set to open to patients in March 2014, also contains additional obstetrical suites, additional neonatal intensive care unit capacity, new cardiac catheterization labs and a new endoscopy suite. The Banner Estrella Hospital tower expansion is currently the only hospital construction project in Arizona with a STAR approval.

VPP is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) highest program of safety recognition across all United States OSHA organizations. It recognizes employers and workers in private and federal workplaces who have exemplified effective safety and health management systems to achieve injury and illness rates more than 50 percent below the national average.

“After a two-day audit of the McCarthy Banner Estrella Hospital expansion, which included McCarthy employees and more than 11 subcontractors on-site, we found that all members of the project were committed to a safe working environment,” said Jessie Atencio, assistant director and consultation and training program manager for ADOSH. “This is the second approved STAR site for McCarthy and we would like to congratulate them for a job well done.”

“The safety of our employees and construction crews is a top priority at McCarthy, and earning this designation on another major community project is an accomplishment for which we can all be proud,” said Bo Calbert, President of McCarthy Southwest Division. “Our safety professionals constantly evaluate and enhance safety practices on our job sites, allowing us to share and improve every project, and share best practices with our clients and improve construction safety across the industry,” he added.

To qualify for VPP status, employers must submit an application to OSHA and undergo an onsite evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals. VPP participants and sites earning the “STAR Site” designation are re-evaluated every three to five years in order to remain in the programs. VPP participants are exempt from OSHA programmed inspections while they maintain their VPP status.

About ADOSH

Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) operates under an approved plan with the U.S. Department of Labor to retain jurisdiction over occupational safety and health issues within Arizona, excluding mining operations, Indian Reservations, and federal employees. This jurisdiction encompasses approximately 2.1 million employees and 130,000 public and private establishments. For more information on ADOSH, Consultation Partnership Programs and the Industrial Commission of Arizona, please visit http://www.ica.state.az.us/ or call (602) 542-5795.

About McCarthy Building Companies: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the nation’s 8th largest domestic general contractor and has been ranked among the top five national health care builders by Modern Healthcare since the magazine began its annual ranking more than 30 years ago. In Arizona, the firm has completed health care facilities projects for the region’s most elite health care institutions. McCarthy’s Southwest Division is based in Phoenix. McCarthy also has offices in Newport Beach, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif.; Las Vegas; Albuquerque; Dallas and Houston, Texas; St. Louis and Atlanta.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee-owned. For more information, visit www.mccarthy.com.