One man has job of keeping 500 workers safe as expressway grows
Driving his pickup truck through icy dirt, Richard McElhaney watched intently as an earthmover moved ahead of him, the enormous yellow machine dwarfing the quad-cab truck. “My job is to make sure everyone is following procedure at all times to be safe,” McElhaney said, as his pickup bounced over a muddy track ripped through the ground by one of the colossal machines lumbering past.
McElhaney, safety manager for TCMS-Maguire, oversees safety on the Brownsville-to-Uniontown link of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, a large responsibility on an expansive construction project.
He is responsible each day for the safety of between 400 and 500 construction workers, employed by five different contractors charged with shaping the 9.2 miles of land into the next phase of the expressway.
“My job is to make sure that everyone involved continues to follow our safety program at all times,” McElhaney said, noting that he does not have many instances of contractors trying to cut corners to save time or money. “They know that it is beneficial to them to be as safe as possible.”
McElhaney said all the equipment used to construct the section of highway was hauled in on lowboys. Some machinery, including some cranes and loaders, come in on dozens of tractor-trailers.
McElhaney said it would be easy to lose track of where the project stood if not for monthly progress meetings to discuss potential setbacks and movements on the project.
He said he tracks the progress of the project daily using a Palm Pilot program that itemizes every step in the expansive project.
McElhaney said the program he tracks the safety with quickly identifies trends that could pose a problem, including simple things like ensuring tie-offs before working from elevated platforms.
He said through the state Turnpike Commission, the project managers have established incentives to encourage safe working conditions.
McElhaney said that whenever an injury does occur, he is notified immediately and added that four pick-up points have been pre-established with local emergency officials.
McElhaney said he has had deaths occur on job sites in the past, as well as serious accidents, something the longtime construction worker said he is hopeful he can work to avoid.
He said the worst injury on the project involved a worker who had a piece of rebar puncture his arm, and said that more often he is inundated with the normal sprains and strains associated with hard labor.
He said planning is the key to ensuring the safety of the workers.
“I really care about these guys,” McElhaney said. “They have wives and kids, and I know we all worry about money because we all need jobs, but their safety is my main focus every day.”