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Construction firms embracing link between safety, employee wellness

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Construction firms embracing link between safety, employee wellness

SAN DIEGO – More construction companies are embracing the inherent link between workplace safety and broader employee wellness initiatives, Rik Kunnath, executive chairman of San Francisco, Calif.-based Pankow Management Inc., said Monday.

“Among a lot of companies, there's a growing awareness that for workplace safety programs to really affect behaviors, there needs to be a culture of deep concern for the well-being of employees,” Mr. Kunnath said during a keynote speech at the International Risk Management Institute Inc.'s annual conference.

Regrettably, he said, Pankow came to that awareness only after a handful of on-site fatalities in the early 1980s forced the company to re-evaluate its prioritization of workplace safety.

“That led to some soul searching as to whether we were really doing all that we could to work safely, and whether or not our drive towards high rates of production were overwhelming the safety message,” Mr. Kunnath said. “It's unfortunate, but sometimes having a deep personal commitment to safety is triggered by an accident or an incident.”

Over time, Mr. Kunnath said Pankow's commitment to protecting its workers has expanded to include a much broader view of their overall health, and the role workplace wellness programs can play in reducing on-site injuries.

“In the beginning, there was some concern that by taking this view of our values, our safety programs could get watered down as they compete with other wellness initiatives, but if anything, the opposite has occurred,” Mr. Kunnath said.

“Everyone knows that nothing we do as an industry has a higher potential for injury than field operations, and that always has to be our most important focus,” he said. “It's just that it's a lot easier for employees to accept your safety message when everything else you do in your interactions with them says that your concern for their well-being is real.”

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Earlier in the day, IRMI awarded Prinsburg, Minn.-based Duinink Inc. its 2013 Gary E. Bird Horizon Award in recognition of the contractor's employee wellness program, particularly for its success in driving down the company's medical claims costs as well as its workers compensation and lost productivity costs.

“Wellness, like safety, is a journey that never ends,” said Rick Maursetter, risk manager at Duininck. “From the company's standpoint, it offers benefits in the form of greater productivity, lower loss potential, and reduced premium costs in the areas of workers compensation and health care. If you're working for a company that's not promoting a wellness program, we challenge you to return to your company and get that journey started.”

Business Insurance's digital coverage of the 2013 IRMI Construction Risk Conference is sponsored by Ace. To view all the Digital Daily news and related content in its ideal form, use a nonmobile browser to visit www.businessinsurance.com/IRMI2013.