OneLife: Inspiring a Culture of Safety
Why Do You Work Safely?
No matter the language, working safely
begins and ends with people.
Every day, we send thousands of employees and trade contractors to jobsites across the nation, and every day, their loved ones depend on them to return home safe and sound. This monumental, humbling task is why we’ve devoted ourselves to transforming the culture of safety from the ground up.
Since its creation in 2014, OneLife, Choate’s safety identity and program, has become a rallying cry to move from compliance-based safety to safety that focuses on commitment — safety that touches the heart.
Taking Safetyto Heart
Over thirty years of safety management across thousands of jobsites has shown us that simply inspecting for hazards or instituting regulations will not achieve the goal of fundamentally altering the individual mindset.
We want workers to want to work safely — if not for themselves, for their spouses, children, or future grandchildren; for the lives and livelihoods of their coworkers.
Likewise, we recognize to err is human; therefore, we take continual, proactive steps to “engineer out” the potential for risk. This includes actively leveraging our Risk Management Information System to predict trends in risk and train/alter our process to prevent incidents before they occur.
F E A T U R E D | Choate Savannah developed a strategic partnership with OSHA, the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, and the AGC of Georgia. Click here to learn more!
A Three-Pronged Approach
OneLife is designed to give a face to the critical, personal decisions workers must face daily by pinpointing the technical (e.g., lack of training), behavioral (e.g., rushing through work), and personal (e.g., language barriers) aspects impacting proper safety performance. By focusing on these aspects via targeted measures, we’re aiming to create a workforce that is personally engaged, empowered, and committed to eliminating injuries.
F E A T U R E D | Field personnel at the Dogwood Forest project receive safety harness training during OSHA’s 2021 National Fall-Prevention Stand-Down.
Walking the Walk
As Choate has grown, so too have the targeted measures we use to protect our workforces.
Regular refinement of our safety program allows us to turn the latest safety innovations into advancements in our policy and procedures. Likewise, adoption of many industry safety and health best practices ensures uniformity across jobsites and among contractors, further perpetuating the ideal of safety being a universal value. We will continue to take active steps to enhance our safety initiatives in the following areas:
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- Management commitment and leadership
- Employee involvement and participation
- Hazard identification and evaluation
- Hazard prevention and control
- Investigate incidents thoroughly
- Safety and health training
Discounted Training Courses
Choate offers a variety of training options through ClickSafety.com/Choateco at discounted prices for the subcontractor community, including OSHA 30 Hour and OSHA 10 Hour courses in both Spanish and English. For more information, click here to view our flyer.
Focused Efforts for Rewarding Results
Through regular inspections of jobsites, consistent messaging, and continuing education for our employees, Choate has achieved a level of success with our recognizably low injury and illness rates. Since Choate’s inception of OneLife, we’ve received numerous awards recognizing our commitment to working safely including, but most certainly not limited to, honors from the Georgia Hispanic Construction Association, SCDOL, NCDOL, Association of General Contractors and the Associated Builders and Contractors.
F E A T U R E D | Choate is honored with certification in the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Building Star Program. This program represents the highest safety recognition a company can receive in North Carolina and is awarded to outstanding firms for their commitment to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace.
A Look Back
OneLife Safety Summit
What's a Safety Summit?
OneLife Safety Summits provide a unique opportunity for Choate safety and management personnel to collaborate with key trade contractor personnel in an open, interactive forum. Together, we share safety best-practices and develop partnership commitments critical to success.
Profile of a Choate Employee Owner
Allen Martin
Charleston Safety Director
Allen Martin leads Choate Charleston’s safety management team, proudly carrying on a ten-year record of zero lost time incidents for the South Carolina office. With a positive attitude and fresh, innovative approach to jobsite safety, he is able to uniquely inspire others to not just build better but build better safely.
What’s the best part about your job?
Making a positive impact across our sites to ensure that everyone can safely return home to their families at the end of each day.
What does OneLife mean to you?
We all have a commitment to make when it comes to working safely. Our families and loved ones need us on this earth just as much as we need them.
What part of your career have you been most proud?
Joining the Choate family!
