Shell Presents American Integrated with Safety Award

 Shell Oil selected GHD and American Integrated Services as the recipient of their 2015 Q2 Safety Award for the United States. We are proud of Jenilee Houghtailing, a project coordinator from our Fairfield Office, who exercised stop work authority when she recognized a potential hazard associated with working from heights.

Shell's award nomination states:

"GHD and their Subcontractor American Integrated Services, Inc. (AIS) were nominated for their proactive hazard recognition, as well as a clear understanding of how the safety requirements apply to the updated scope of work. GHD and AIS were on site conducting remedial excavation at a Shell-branded service station. During air-knife activities to investigate and protect utilities in the vicinity of the excavation, it was determined that bed liners would be needed for the end-dump trucks to aid in off-loading the soil/water at the final disposal facility.  AIS identified that this was a change condition and initiated management of change (MOC) review with GHD, specifically noting the potential for a work at heights Life-Saving Rule violation if climbing into the back of the truck, as well as, recognition that working from a ladder could violate the global ladder ban. The AIS and GHD team reviewed the situation and determined the best solution to mitigate the risks, which included use of a boom lift.  AIS also ensured the team onsite was properly trained in the use of the boom lift.  GHD and AIS exhibited very perceptive hazard identification to proactively plan a solution that both allowed the work to continue without delay and brought attention to the Life-Saving Rules at the jobsite."

Shell team members made the following comments in support of the nomination:

“We’ve seen numerous instances of this rule being violated in exactly this situation, and AIS really stepped up and showed their understanding of the nuances of the Life-Saving Rules. “
 
“MoC is a difficult thing to get ingrained in day to day operations and it was nice to see that they recognized a change in planned operations and then took the time to think about the potential for a LSR.  Really impressed with the stop and think approach. “
 
“GHD’s nomination stands out to me because this subcontractor took the initiative to work with GHD in advance on a solution to a situation that could have easily resulted in a Life-Saving Rule violation. “

Pictured above, from left, are Doug Weimer (Shell), Cesar Romero (Shell), Jenliee Houghtailing (AIS), David Saint-Laurent (Shell), Gary Runnells (AIS), Alfonso Gamino (AIS), and Razmik Gozalians (AIS).