SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb. 16, 2015 -- Last week, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) announced that construction teams working on projects as part of the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) have performed a total of more than 7 million safe working hours without a single major injury or lost time incident between April 2009 and October 2014.
According to SFPUC, the milestone is representative of the "Think Safety, Work Safely" approach, ensuring that the program's construction sites are safe places to work. This approach has enabled SFPUC's construction management program to achieve significantly lower rates of recordable injuries and lost work time compared to the national industry averages.
WSIP is one of the largest water infrastructure programs in the nation and the largest infrastructure program ever undertaken by the city of San Francisco, noted SFPUC. It is composed of 83 projects to upgrade, repair and replace the city's aging water infrastructure. Currently 80 percent complete, the program has employed 11,000 workers since 2007 and has repaired or replaced more than 280 miles of pipeline.
"Construction on the WSIP really peaked over the last five years, and some of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects have been completed or brought into service," said SFPUC Commissioner Vince Courtney. "This is very demanding work, and this record is remarkable with all of the major work accomplished over the last five years."
SFPUC representatives acknowledged the safety milestone with a formal presentation of a certificate to the active construction management and contractor teams in December, 2014.
See also:
"Construction of first tunnel under SF Bay completed; provides reliable drinking water source"
"New director hired for SFPUC Water System Improvement Program"
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