September marks Suicide Awareness Month, and at Aldridge, we’re taking this opportunity to highlight our ongoing commitment to mental health. Through our collaboration with Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas and the University of Colorado, we've trained over 70 employees as Mental Health First Responders through the VitalCog program.
We are excited to announce the release of the Winter 2024 edition of the Pipeline newsletter as we celebrate a significant milestone: our 30th year in print. Over the past three decades, Aldridge Electric has undergone a remarkable journey of growth, innovation, and success. We've expanded our reach, diversified our expertise, and continually raised the bar for excellence in the industry. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our exceptional teams.
At Aldridge, safety isn't just a priority; it's a deeply ingrained value that shapes our culture and defines our commitment to our workforce. Safety is not just about addressing incidents after they happen; it's about proactively reducing or eliminating potential exposures by verifying all adequate controls are in place. At Aldridge, we've taken a pioneering approach to safety, addressing the precursors to performance errors – also referred to as Brain Centered Hazards. We've taken significant steps to build layers of protection and tools to minimize the severity of incidents, and we're excited to introduce our Serious Injury Prevention program, known as SHOK – Seriously Hurt or Killed.
In the bustling heart of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, something significant was brewing. COO Brian Mazzei and Safety Vice President O'Brien Mills, representing our esteemed company, were standing side by side with representatives from OSHA, the Secretary of Labor, and our distinguished partners. The occasion? The renewal ceremony for the OSHA Electrical, Transmission, and Distribution (ETD) Strategic Partnership agreement. This pivotal event marked a remarkable milestone, as the five-year renewal cycle signified 20 years of dedicated efforts to enhance safety in our industry.
Women of Aldridge (WOA) is a proactive initiative that actively supports and promotes women in the construction industry. Through various means such as retention, professional development, networking, mentorship, and access to resources, WOA seeks to empower women and contribute to the company's workforce diversity goals and overall business objectives. The initiative aims to foster a supportive environment where women can connect, build a sense of community, share ideas, and play a significant role in the company's success.
Since establishing our footprint in the Mid-Atlantic, Aldridge has worked on numerous high-profile power and transportation projects throughout Virginia. At the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance (VTCA) annual meeting last week, Aldridge was recognized with a safety award for providing a safe working environment to our employees and the traveling public.
Inside or Outside the Substation Fence, Aldridge is your partner. Our comprehensive services allow us to execute seamlessly. Known for an innovative and client-centric approach, Aldridge is a sought-after team member for complex Mission Critical substations. Widely recognized as one of the leading electrical infrastructure trade partners in the country, our unique approach energizes clients' projects through technology/innovation, proven execution, and life cycle efficiencies to provide cost and schedule certainty.
It’s National Safety Month! Safety is our #1 value and this mindset extends at home or at work, day or night. It is centered around human interactions, care, and concern. This drives a culture that supports checking in with each other and speaking up if we see an unsafe action
Aldridge’s goal is to achieve an Incident & Injury Free work environment. Any employee performing work for Aldridge is expected to maintain safety as a value. Aldridge considers no part of the construction or maintenance process more important than preserving the well-being of all its personnel, subcontractors, the general public, and customers. The realization of this goal depends heavily upon the active participation and attitude of you, our employees, and your employees in implementing the requirements set forth.
Our long-range strategic plan has us laser-focused on winning the war for talent. This means establishing ourselves as a great place to work, investing in hiring ahead of operational needs, continuously developing and delivering best-in-class training solutions, and empowering and engaging employees so that we retain the industry’s best people. Our people are the foundation of our company strategy and success, and we are working hard on numerous initiatives that will up our game in terms of talent acquisition, onboarding, training, development, retention, and engagement.
Aldridge’s VDC team is made up of modeling staff skilled in CAD and BIM. They work with the project and prefab teams to model and design the projects, creating design and spool drawings to assist with the prefab process and installation in the field. Aldridge was recently promoted in an article inside ECMAG written by Susan DeGrane. There she writes about our prefabrication process and how it is such an asset to our work.
Construction Safety Week is an opportunity to rally together and reinforce our enduring commitment to safety. Once a year, we feel the solidarity of our one Aldridge team as we put first things first…learning, sharing, and getting better. We encourage you to be engaged and empowered to share during the week's conversations, demonstrations, and activities.
Congratulations to Ken Aldridge for his recent recognition at the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Construction Club Banquet where he was honored with their Lifetime Achievement in Construction Award! Ken was honored for his impact on the construction industry by spending his career working to influence change. As a second-generation owner and current Chairman of the Board, Ken has a legacy of setting up Aldridge for success.
Bill Sullivan, our Utility Training Manager at Aldridge Electric, shares his passion for safety innovation in an article from Construction Tech Review.
“With a passion for training the next generation of tradespeople, I recently invented a means for non–entry rescue that I believe will be an industry game–changer and could potentially save many lives.
Jamie Breme, the Director of Business Development was featured as a top transportation construction leader in American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)’s latest magazine. In the feature, she was asked questions along with other female leaders in the construction industry.
Transportation Builder’s editorial team asked Jamie a variety of questions to answer her industry outlook, advice, and favorite projects.
We are excited to kick off Women in Construction Week 2023! It is important to Aldridge to honor the women in our workforce for their contributions. Join us and the rest of the construction industry as we celebrate these talented professionals. We are committed to recruiting and retaining women at all levels of our business.
At Aldridge, we don’t settle for the status quo. We pride ourselves on our innovative practices that allow us to complete work on the industry’s most challenging projects. This effort not only maximizes efficiency, enhances quality, and keeps workers out of the line of fire - but it offers a unique approach to managing project risk.
As part of A fiber optic project in Washington DC, our crews were required to move heavy power equipment from street level to station level. This often required a heavy cabinet to be transferred manually from cart to cart via team lift, from uneven ground or varying elevations which left less-than-ideal lifting positions. This exposed the crew to sprains, stains, and pinch points.
Keeping the body safe, one decision at a time. Take this unique unloading procedure that utilizes special roller attachments on a hi-rail vehicle to eliminate the need for extra physical labor when moving 300 lb units along the track. As part of our Making Safe Decisions program, we are always looking for innovative ways to foster safer work practices.
December 5-9, 2022 is a week dedicated to providing Aldridge employees and their families with resources and means to achieve mental wellness. Throughout the week, employees were welcomed to join ‘Toolbox Talks’ to increase their knowledge and awareness of their mental state. These talks included daily check-ins, statistics, facts, do’s and don'ts, and tips to deal with mental wellness.
As a prefabrication trailblazer, Aldridge continues to seek out unique opportunities to showcase and utilize our industry knowledge to provide tailored solutions for each and every project we take on. While the tollway association typically only engages specifically approved vendors for the fabrication of their IPDC (Intermediate Power Distribution and Communication) buildings, we were able to lean into our decades of experience to procure a contract that allowed Aldridge to provide these prefabricated buildings.
