ABC honors over 100 contractors during convention

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) honored 92 projects collectively worth nearly $3.7 billion at the 29^th annual Excellence in Construction (EIC) awards gala during ABC Convention 2019 in Long Beach, California. The EIC awards program is a competition that honors both general and specialty contractors for innovative and high-quality merit shop construction projects.

“ABC members and their employees continue to amaze me with their breadth of skills and craftsmanship,” says 2019 ABC National Chair Tony Rader, telecom vice president of National Roofing Partners in Coppell, Texas, in a news release. “From schools to manufacturing facilities, medical centers and hotels, this year’s variety of Excellence in Construction award-winning projects show not only the exceptional talent in our industry, but the overall commitment to building safely, on time and on budget.”

The EIC award honors all construction team members, including the contractor, owner, architect and engineer. The winning projects, selected from entries across the nation, were judged on complexity, attractiveness, unique challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation, safety and cost.

A panel of industry experts served as the competition’s judges. This year's panel included representatives from the Building Owners and Managers Association International, the Smithsonian Facilities Construction Division, the Construction Management Association of America, Engineering News-Record, the Design-Build Institute of America and various construction-related firms nationwide.

The awards’ 48 Eagle (first place) winners hailed from 15 different states. Texas had the most award-winning projects, with 11 taking home first place, followed by Louisiana with eight first-place projects.

The 44 Pyramid (second place) winners were from 19 different areas, including one in the British Indian Ocean Territory and one in a confidential location (the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Collections and Conservation Center). Texas had the most Pyramid-awarded projects as well, with eight taking home the award, followed again by Louisiana with five.

A full list of EIC winners is available on ABC’s website.

Diversity excellence

During the convention, ABC also named the winners of the National Diversity Excellence Awards, an annual recognition of ABC members that display exemplary diversity leadership in their workforce, supply chain and community with best-in-class recruitment policies, retention practices and education and mentoring programs.

“This year’s National Diversity Excellence Award winners understand a commitment to diversity is essential to meet the needs of today’s workforce,” Rader says. “They are leading the way in best practices and implementing a framework to attract and invest in talent from a variety of backgrounds. ABC looks forward to continuing to work with these trailblazers to help the industry unlock the full potential of every individual who chooses a career in construction.”

Awards were presented in five categories:

• General Contractor Over $33 Million: Austin Commercial, Dallas, and Hensel Phelps, Tysons Corner, Virginia

• General Contractor Under $33 Million: Lunacon Construction Group, Miami, Florida, and Wu & Associates Inc., Mount Laurel, New Jersey

• Subcontractor: Gaylor Electric Inc., Noblesville, Indiana

• Associate: Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, Cerritos, California

• Supplier: United Rentals, Stamford, Connecticut

Award winners were selected by industry partners and ABC’s Diversity Committee members, which supports the association’s strategic goal to continually grow and deliver value to a diverse and inclusive workforce. The committee—formed to better reach underrepresented communities within the constructions sector—provides leadership and direction to chapters and member companies to promote diversity as an empowering competitive advantage through education, awareness and business practices.

United Rentals Inc., the world’s largest equipment rental company, sponsors ABC’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, including the Diversity & Inclusion Summit and National Diversity Excellence Awards.

To learn more about ABC’s diversity programs, visit their website.

Safety awards

ABC also announced the winners of the 2018 National Safety Excellence Awards during the convention. A total of 42 ABC member companies were recognized for their safety performance at a gala on March 27.

The National Safety Excellence Award winners were selected from ABC member firms that achieved Diamond, Platinum and Gold status in ABC’s STEP Safety Management System in 2018. During the selection process, contractors were judged on self-evaluation scores, lost workday case rates, total recordable incident rates, leading indicator use, process and program innovations and video interviews conducted by members of ABC’s National Safety and Health Committee.

“Associated Builders and Contractors is proud to honor industry leaders who have created world-class safety processes and a safety culture where every employee understands that the wellbeing of those around them is everyone’s responsibility,” Rader says. “Their top-down, bottom-up approach to creating safe jobsites—and ensuring every one of their employees goes home in the same or better condition than when they arrived—is the gold standard in merit shop construction.”

The National Safety Excellence Awards are presented in three major North American Industry Classification System code categories: NAICS 236 – Construction of Buildings; NAICS 237 – Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction; and NAICS 238 – Specialty Trade Contractors.

STEP is the standard for developing world-class safety management systems in construction. STEP is designed to help both large and small contractors evaluate every aspect of their corporate safety and health programs and identify opportunities for improvement. According to ABC’s annual Safety Performance Report, the average STEP Diamond company is more than six times safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ average for the entire industry based on their total recordable incident rate.

See a complete list of winners on ABC’s website.