Windsor, Ontario • For a third year, the Gordie Howe International Bridge project was honoured with the prestigious John M. Beck Award at the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) annual general meeting.
Presented each year, the award recognizes a project-based Joint Health and Safety Committee in the Ontario construction industry that demonstrates extraordinary leadership, initiative, creativity and innovation in developing policy, procedures, tools or communications for protecting the health and safety of all those on a construction site.
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) and Bridging North America (BNA) work collaboratively with diligence and integrity to keep their employees safe. The Joint Health and Safety Committee on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project employs extraordinary measures to continually improve workplace health and safety. Fulsome and mandatory orientation sessions, foreman lunch and learns, mock drills, focused communications on critical activities specific to this project such as working at heights, a mentor program, a weekly recognition program, preventative care services, a hazard ID and observation program, celebration of National Health and Safety Week and annual surveys are a few examples of how the project team creates and maintains a “safety first” culture on the construction site. Through these efforts, site staff become an extension of the Joint Health and Safety Committee, reflecting this culture in all they do.
This award coincides with two significant workforce achievements related to number of workers and hours worked. Over 10,000 individuals have now been oriented to work on the project. Through efforts detailed in the Workforce Development and Participation Strategy of the Community Benefits Plan, 42 per cent of those workers are local to the Windsor-Essex and Detroit areas. Also, site staff have amassed over 10 million hours of work across all four project components.
QUOTES
“Thousands of dedicated people make the Gordie Howe Internal Bridge project possible, and it is our priority to ensure every single one of them can return home safely every day. I’m proud to see the project’s Joint Health and Safety Committee continue to receive recognition for their work in ensuring that our commitment to safety is more than mere words.”
- Charl van Niekerk, CEO, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority
“Receiving the John M. Beck Award during the busiest construction period to date is a significant accomplishment. While the team continues to make incredible progress on all four components of the project, they do so while upholding our robust health and safety standards.”
- Michael Hatchell, CEO, Bridging North America
QUICK FACTS
- Each day, approximately 2500 people are actively working on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project construction site.
- Project workforce highlights as of June 2023, include:
- Over 620 apprentices and pre-apprentices have been engaged in the US and Canada.
- Over 265 local businesses in Windsor and Detroit have been engaged to provide goods or services to the project.
- Over 310 co-op students have been hired by WDBA and Bridging North America.
- The John M. Beck Award is the latest honour for the Gordie Howe International Bridge project. This year, the project also received recognition for its cross-border Environmental Management System and was awarded the inaugural 2023 Brownfields and Infrastructure Phoenix Award.
RELEVANT LINKS
- Video: 9 Questions with Bradley Babcock – Marine Safety and Operations
- Learn more about the Community Benefits Workforce Development and Participation Strategy
ABOUT WINDSOR-DETROIT BRIDGE AUTHORITY
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) is a not-for-profit Canadian Crown corporation created to deliver the Gordie Howe International Bridge project between Windsor, ON and Detroit, MI through a public- private partnership (P3). WDBA is responsible for overseeing and managing the construction and operation of the new crossing. For more information on WDBA visit www.GordieHoweInternationalBridge.com and follow the project on Facebook.
ABOUT BRIDGING NORTH AMERICA
Bridging North America (BNA) became the private-sector partner to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Gordie Howe International Bridge project in September 2018. BNA is comprised of some of the most recognized leaders in the construction and infrastructure industry which includes North American and international companies. BNA partners have significant experience carrying out major infrastructure projects such as the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway in Windsor, Ontario; New Champlain Bridge Corridor in Montreal, Quebec; Autoroute 30 in Montreal, Quebec; Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto, Ontario; Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) in Montreal, Quebec; Automated People Mover at LAX Airport, California; Harbor Bridge, Corpus Christi, Texas; Tappan Zee Bridge in New York and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, California
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Gordie Howe International Bridge
Media Relations Team
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