Building a Culture of Safety: How Lee Contracting Empowers Its Workforce
In industrial contracting, safety must be placed above all else. Full stop. From complex rigging projects to plant upgrades, the industrial environments where Lee Contracting operates demand the highest level of attention to worker protection and risk management.
Building a strong culture of safety isn’t about doing the bare minimum. It’s about empowering every employee at every level of the company to be an active participant in keeping themselves and their colleagues safe. This commitment is found in each project and process to create an industrial contracting workforce that is accountable and fully understands all aspects of safety.
Setting the Tone Through Leadership
A culture of safety starts at the top, and Lee Contracting’s leadership team goes to great lengths to make sure the team understands safety is a core value. Our leaders prioritize safety in every decision and allocate resources to support it. They hold themselves and others accountable for maintaining the highest standards.
This visible commitment breeds trust across the entire organization and sends a clear message: safety matters here and everyone plays an important role.
Building an Infrastructure of Safety
To ensure our safety efforts are proactive and pervasive, Lee Contracting has built a company-wide infrastructure of safety that supports our industrial contracting services, led by two key groups:
Safety Team
Our Safety Team is made up of experienced professionals skilled in hazard identification and the application of effective mitigation strategies. Many team members hold advanced degrees and are certified OSHA Outreach Trainers for OSHA 10 and 30-hour courses in both General Industry and Construction.
The Safety Team is responsible for identifying potential hazards within every project and conducts thorough risk assessments to recognize safety concerns early and continuously. Based on these findings, Lee Contracting develops and implements comprehensive mitigation strategies to minimize risks and ensure compliance with all safety regulations.
Safety Committee
Separate from our Safety Team, our Safety Committee is made up of employees who volunteer from all levels of the organization and have shown a commitment to supporting and strengthening our safety culture.
Each member holds, at minimum, an OSHA 30-hour certification and serves as an extension of our full-time safety staff, assisting in identifying hazards and implementing corrective actions. As subject matter experts in their respective fields, they provide valuable insight into specific means, methods and trade-specific techniques. This expertise bolsters our ability to proactively address potential hazards and implement realistic, field-informed solutions.
Safety Scoring and Analysis
Every project is assigned a safety score that guides safety planning and oversight. This scoring system helps ensure that appropriate safety measures are aligned with the specific risks and requirements of each project. Pre-Task Planning (PTP), Job Hazard Analyses (JHA) and onsite visits ensure safety expectations are communicated clearly and followed consistently throughout the entirety of the project.
Empowering Every Employee
Empowering employees to take ownership of safety is key to Lee Contracting’s safety approach. The company provides and supports:
Robust training: All trades personnel complete at least OSHA 10-hour training at the apprentice level and OSHA 30-hour training for field supervisors. Additional trade-specific and role-based training is also provided to reflect the latest best practices and regulatory requirements. Our in-house First Aid and CPR course, certified by the American Red Cross, has received stellar feedback and further equips employees to respond appropriately in emergencies.
Stop Work Authority (SWA): Employees are not just empowered, but encouraged, to stop work if a potential hazard is identified. Team members who exercise SWA are recognized, and the company issues rewards and incentives like safety scratch-off tickets, raffle entries, and nominations for the Safety Championship awards.
This commitment to empowering our workforce is one of the many reasons clients trust Lee as their industrial contractor on complex, high-risk projects.
Award-Winning Safety
Lee Contracting’s commitment to safety has earned significant industry recognition, including:
- 2025 Associated Builders and Contractors STEP Program Level Platinum for outstanding Safety Practices
- 2024 Associated Builders and Contractors STEP Program Level Gold for outstanding Safety Practices
- 2023 Associated Builders and Contractors STEP Program Level Silver for outstanding Safety Practices
- 2023 Construction Association of MI Honorable Mention for outstanding Safety Practices
- 2020 Construction Association of MI Honorable Mention for outstanding Safety Practices
- 2019 Construction Association of MI Honorable Mention for outstanding Safety Practices
- 2018 Construction Association of MI Bronze Award for outstanding Safety Practices
- 2018 General Motors Supplier of the Year
At Lee Industrial Contracting, building a culture of safety is about more than checking boxes. It’s about empowering our people to always put safety first. By investing in extensive training and encouraging proactive participation from every team member, we create a workforce where safety is not just a core value, but a source of pride.
