Huston Electric receives award for having a continued safe work environment.

Huston Electric receives award for having a continued safe work environment.

Accident Fund Awards Huston Electric for Safety Excellence
Accident Fund and agency partner Regions Insurance – Miles & Finch, Inc. were pleased to award Huston Electric, Inc. for their recent safety achievements. Huston Electric is a family-owned, full-service electrical contracting company based out of Kokomo, Ind.
After a few years of high losses and a climbing loss ratio, Huston Electric realized the need for a major change in regards to their safety efforts. Therefore, in 2009, they hired a full-time safety director and began implementing new safety procedures immediately. They started with the distribution of a revised safety manual to all employees and subcontractors, and created a safety newsletter for employees to keep them “in-the-know” when it comes to safety practices in the workplace. To ensure their employees read the newsletter, and to get employees actively participating in safe work practices, they created incentives and monthly drawings.
Next on the list was an overhaul of their safety equipment. They purchased upgraded hard hats and implemented a program to ensure that employees had safety glasses with them 100% of the time when on a job site. They also purchased new lockout/tagout kits, arc flash gear, insulated tools and arc-rated CAT2 uniforms. After a series of site inspections, Huston Electric realized that the ladders their employees were using were no longer safe. Therefore, they replaced all 6- and 8-foot single-sided A-frame ladders with double-sided ladders.
Huston Electric also started holding an annual fall protection training to ensure employees are kept up-to-date on the latest fall protection news and equipment, such as safety harnesses and proper tie-off locations.
Thanks to all the changes Huston Electric implemented, they have passed their last 13 IOSHA inspections with zero citations. They have also lowered their loss ratio from 105% in 2007 to under 10% for policy years 2009 and 2010. In 2010, they had just one minor medical claim and one indemnity claim.
Because of their dedication to safety and excellence, Accident Fund was thrilled to honor them with a safety achievement award at a recent celebratory luncheon. Huston Electric is proof that with the right safety procedures in place and 100% dedication to keeping employees safe on the job, unnecessary accidents and claim costs can be avoided. Congratulations to Huston Electric, Inc.!

Pictured L to R: Rick Cardwell, Huston Electric Service Manager; JJ Iovino, Regions Insurance President; Jeff Cardwell, Huston Electric President & CEO; Ryan Lambert, Accident Fund WorkSafe Consultant; Russ Howell, Huston Electric Safety Director; Theresa Miller, Accident Fund Business Development Consultant; Matt Boor, Huston Electric VP Sales & Marketing.