Partnership to focus on safety at Amherst College construction project

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Barr & Barr Inc., a construction management company, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have signed a strategic partnership to enhance workplace safety and health during the construction of Amherst College’s New Science Center.

Under the partnership, Barr & Barr will develop a safety and health plan that will serve as a benchmark for project subcontractors, setting out requirements and goals to meet or exceed. Qualified safety and health representatives will administer the plan. Its elements will include quarterly safety stand-downs; weekly meetings with subcontractors to discuss project safety issues; reviews of upcoming work; comprehensive analyses of job hazards, and an annual evaluation of the partnership.

OSHA, an agency in the U.S. Department of Labor, will review and continually evaluate the plan and help ensure that effective training is available and delivered. OSHA representatives also will attend monthly safety and health meetings.

“Our common goal is to ensure a safe and healthful working environment at the construction site and for this project. Partnerships bring together recognized best workplace practices and create success,” said Mary Hoye, OSHA’s area director in Springfield.

“We are delighted to enter into this partnership with OSHA for the Amherst College New Science Center. It is our belief that this partnership agreement will enhance the entire team efforts to provide state-of-the-art safety programs, and will be a major benefit to the men and women building the project,” said Stephen Killian, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Barr & Barr.

The $195 million project involves the construction of a four-story, 250,000 square-foot building that will house laboratories classrooms and office space. The partnership, signed in January 2017, is scheduled to last through the project’s conclusion, estimated for August 2018.

The partnership was signed in January by Hoye, Killian and the following Barr & Barr officials: William Aquadro, project executive; Matthew Jacobs, project manager; James Manoli, CSP, safety director; and Richard Budnar, superintendent.

Jason Garand, business manager of New England Regional Council of Carpenters Local 108, and Tom Andrews, business manager/secretary-treasurer of Laborers Union International of North America Local 596, signed in support of the partnership.

OSHA’s Strategic Partnership Program helps encourage, assist and recognize voluntary partner efforts to eliminate serious workplace hazards Area employers and employees with questions about this and other OSHA cooperative programs can call OSHA’s Springfield Area Office at 413-785-0123.