Shingobee Builders, Inc. and Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) signed a Cooperative Compliance Partnership agreement on August 14, 2013. Officials from Minnesota’s Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), MNOSHA Compliance, Associated Builders and Contractors Minnesota chapter (MN ABC), and Shingobee Builders, gathered at Shingobee’s Loretto office to mark the initiation of this significant partnership.

Shingobee Builders and MNOSHA

Back row (l to r): MNOSHA Principal Safety Investigator Lisa Hollingsworth; MN ABC Safety Specialist Don Hines; MNOSHA Training, Outreach and Partnership Director Nancy Zentgraf; Shingobee President / CEO Keith McDonald; MN ABC President Robert Heise; Shingobee CFO Nancy Samson
Front row (l to r): MNOSHA Workplace Safety Manager Cindy Valentine; Shingobee Safety Director Stacy Gleason; Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Ken Peterson

 

Shingobee Builders is the first company to achieve Level 3 Cooperative Compliance Partnership under MNOSHA’s partnership program with the Minnesota chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry originally signed a major safety initiative with MN ABC in March 2006, designed to reduce the number of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities at participant construction industry employers. The partnership was revised in 2012 and the new initiative was jointly agreed upon by MN ABC and

Shingobee and MNOSHA Signing

Shingobee Safety Director Stacy Gleason and Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Ken Peterson sign Cooperative Compliance Partnership Agreement

 

MNOSHA Compliance. Shingobee Builders has been a partner to the agreement since 2008.

 

Level 3 is the peak level of such partnerships, with applicants striving to be an industry leader with a very comprehensive safety and health program. To qualify, participants must have reached Level 2 and remained on that level for at least one year. The partnerships acknowledge the importance of providing a safe, healthful work environment in construction and seek a working relationship that creates mutual trust and respect among all parties – including project owners and construction workers – involved in the construction process.

 

The Level 3 Partnership agreement will provide for a true partnership between Shingobee Builders and Minnesota OSHA for the International School of Minnesota Residence Hall project under construction in Eden Prairie, MN. MNOSHA Compliance will conduct frequent safety and health site survey visits, which will be conducted in a cooperative manner with Shingobee and its subcontractors. Any non-serious hazards observed, if abated immediately, will be recorded without citations or penalties, as long as terms of the partnership are maintained.

 

“Shingobee Builders is honored to be partnering with Minnesota OSHA on this important safety initiative. As a company, we place a high priority on safety at our jobsites. We look forward to working in cooperation with the MNOSHA team to improve our site safety programs, and educate our employees and subcontractors on safe practices,” stated Stacy Gleason, Shingobee Safety Director.

 

The International School project, which will be the focus for this partnership agreement, is the construction of a new 19,650 square foot, three-story residence hall on the School’s campus. Construction was started recently, and is scheduled for completion in summer of 2014.

 

International School of Minnesota Residence Hall

International School of Minnesota Residence Hall