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.
Our time with our interns is wrapping up as we close out the summer. Last week, our end-of-summer meeting took place in which each of our 37 interns developed their respective presentations on their unique experiences and identified the highlights from the last 10 weeks. Common themes from the day included: safety first, collaboration, adaptability, work ethic, and an overall commendation to the commitment each employee has to our core values, the Aldridge Way.
After a successful pilot program, Pepco, part of the Exelon family of companies, and Aldridge Electric have entered year two of a multiyear project to assess more than 60,000 manholes and vaults across our nation’s capital. This scope of work was awarded in late 2019 and has led to the expansion of the local workforce and collaboration with community stakeholders and programs to represent the region’s diverse demographic.
Aldridge routinely performs work all across the country in a wide range of terrains and working conditions. However, the Barren Ridge Project provided logistical intricacies associated with its location through a national forest. As with every job, Aldridge brought their innovative strategy, in-depth focus on pre-planning, and daily attention to safety and quality to successfully complete this project.
Here at Aldridge, our internship program is immensely important to us, as a significant portion of our team has grown directly from our interns, including some of our executives who have been with the company now for over 20 years. We look forward to continuing to develop and improve on our program and maintain the importance of having a strongly beneficial internship program.
Aldridge is proud to support the District of Columbia Infrastructure Academy (DCIA) as a partner contractor. This academy prepares graduates for entry-level positions in the construction industry, including the utility segment, which will help meet the need for skilled infrastructure professionals in the DC Metro area.
Since 2018, Aldridge has been continually providing transmission drilling services to utility partners in Florida. Some of the complexities our crews encounter in this hot and humid climate include difficult access, environmental protection, congested work areas, and sinkholes. That is no challenge for the seasoned, hard-working crews in our Foundation group.
The city of Chicago has been working to add all-electric buses to its public transportation system as part of a 2019 commitment to convert 100% of its 1,800-vehicle bus fleet to electric by 2040. To finally add a batch of 20 all-electric buses to the fleet purchased in 2018, Aldridge Electric, Libertyville, Ill., installed three new charging stations for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
Aldridge prides itself on leveraging state-of-the-art technologies to provide the highest quality project delivery in the smartest, safest manner possible. As the industry continues to increase the utilization of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other new programs, Aldridge has elevated its focus on collaboration among our PreFabrication Department, BIM professionals, and project teams to drive planning and execution, and yield value-engineered outputs.
Aldridge has the unique ability to self-perform numerous scopes of major infrastructure projects. Long-known for our ability to plan and add value through engineering, we continue to invest in expansion through existing and new markets. We are pleased to welcome several new key team members who will drive growth in the Transportation, Power and Utility, and now Systems Integration sectors.
Aldridge is excited to announce it has been awarded the electrical contract for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) West Lake Corridor Expansion project. This southern branch expansion of the existing South Shore Line (SSL) will extend the commuter rail from Hammond to the Munster/Dyer area. The existing SSL currently operates both freight and passenger service between Millennium Station in Chicago and the South Bend Regional Airport.
This 8-mile new single track expansion will connect to the existing SSL at the Hammond Gateway Station. Aldridge is providing all electrical work for this mega project.
For the past several years, Aldridge has supported the Greenhouse Scholar Program, most recently sponsoring Sanah Ahmed. A student of Cornell University's class of 2023, she is working to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, a cause that is near and dear to the Aldridge family. She was introduced to the disease at the age of 14 when her father’s diabetes became difficult to manage.
Aldridge is proud to offer best-in-class training programs. Our safety trainers have been busy traveling the country to bring training directly to the field. A recent highlight included a simulated down-hole rescue. Each piece of the rescue kit was explained and demonstrated to train crews on what to do should someone fall into an open hole. During the simulation, a 4 FT hole was used and all safety protocols were followed.
Aldridge is looking forward to another year of fall career fairs! In light of COVID-19 shutdowns, we will be participating in virtual events via Handshake. Aldridge is always on the hunt for top performers for our intern program and to join our team full time!
Aldridge is proud to announce winning two International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC) Safety Awards! In recognition of our cultural and company-wide commitment to being IIF (Incident & Injury Free), the Dave White Memorial Award is given for having made obvious and deliberate safety practice changes over the last three years.
