A safe workplace

Ragan Mechanical's award-winning safety program consistently produces one of the safest work environments in the mechanical contracting industry.
    Built on a simple principal, create a culture of safety so each employee goes home each day safe and injury free, the Ragan Safety Program continually strives for the goal of ZERO ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES.
    Ragan's strong commitment to a safe workplace goes well beyond stating its compliance with federal, state and local regulations.
    Safety coordinator Mike Tomsha takes the Ragan safety message in job-specific terms right to workers on the job site. He conducts half-hour safety meetings before work starts and occassionally at lunch, he buys pizza for the crew and serves up safety reminders.
    When Tomsha can't be present, the job supervisor delivers the safety messages.

Besides safety education, Ragan:

Conducts a formal Job Safety Analysis of job sites, producing a written survey of potential hazards and preventive steps to take.
Completes a Safety Audit, a walk-around inspection of a site to remind workers of accident-prevention measures.

Measurable results

Ragan Mechanical consistently achieves an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) that is among the lowest in its industry. Measuring the company's actual accident experience against the insurance industry's prediction, Ragan yearly achieves an excellent score well below 1.0.
The company's OSHA Recordable Rate injuries per number of hours worked consistently ranks among the best in the industry.
Most importantly, Ragan Mechanical has not recorded a lost-time accident in more than four years (as of November 2006).

Recent safety awards

Iowa-Illinois Safety Council: Recognition For Outstanding Achievement In Accident Prevention

Mechanical Contractors Association: For Achieving Safety Excellence with a Zero Lost Workday Cases Incident Rate in 2004

Millennium Insurance Company: For Outstanding Safety Performance and Zero Lost-Time Accidents

Illowa Construction Labor & Management Council: In Recognition For Outstanding Safety Performance

In addition to our many awards, we have pre-qualification status with a number of corporations including Monsanto, Aluminum Company of America, Equistar Chemicals, Ipsco Steel, Nestles Ralston Purina, Kraft/Oscar Mayer, and Dupont.

Case Study:

Ragan at Equistar division,
Lyondell Chemical Company
Before a crew from Ragan Mechanical starts any job at Equistar, it fills out a JSA (job safety analysis), noting what the job entails, what potential safety hazards exist and the steps to be taken to remain safe. The JSA puts safety in black-and-white – reminding workers in job-specific terms what tools they will use and what safety equipment they
will need.

The results:
“During the summer of 2005, Ragan had about 100 workers on the job at Equistar, running two shifts for a scheduled eight-week plant shutdown – with NO injuries. Ragan has achieved a record of 15 years in that plant without a lost-time accident, and seven years without a recordable injury.”
– Mike Tomsha, Safety Coordinator