Posts Tagged ‘egan industrial controls’

UNENDING PRACTICE CREATES SAFETY EXCELLENCE CULTURE

Wednesday, June 17th, 2020

Excellence in safety doesn’t just happen. It takes practice and leadership.

At Egan Company, our teams strive to promote safe and healthy working environments and to maintain safe practices at all times. Our safety program is not static—it continually evolves and improves to meet our own standards and those of our customers.

Two consecutive years without an OSHA recordable injury is a milestone we celebrate, and there’s one group at Egan Company that achieved zero injuries in 2018 and 2019– the Industrial Controls team.

A business offering within Egan, the Industrial Controls business unit provides electrical installations, system integration, PLC/HMI programming, engineering, custom-built control panels, and a variety of other specialty controls services.

Last year, this group delivered 135,332 combined hours in the field and in our UL 508A Panel Shop.

KEY CONTRIBUTORS IN SAFETY

When safety is a cultural priority, experience through field practices and leadership become key contributors to reaching success in safety.

Through implemented programs like jobsite audits, safety observations, and safety lunches, a safety mindset is emphasized and it is everyone’s job to make sure these are completed every month. 

“The Industrial Controls leadership team has made safety a top priority. We believe the safety team has implemented these important programs to emphasize the importance of safety. It is our job to make sure these are followed through.” said Mike Tengwall, Egan Company Vice President. “Our experienced project managers and field leaders have a good understanding of our jobsites and the hazards associated with the work they are performing. If there are any questions related to safety, we involve the safety team early to help us execute work in a safe manner.”

COMMITMENT SHOWS

Recently, this team was recognized for an Award of Honor by the Minnesota Safety Council. Recipients of this award have incident rates at least 91% better than the industry average and a score between 91 and 100 on the safety program evaluation scale. 

Significant growth over the last few years has also added to the need for additional safety measures. As new employees have joined the team, additional space has become necessary, and demand for project output has increased, the continued focus on safety has grown as well. 

Terry Fredricks, Egan Company Panel Shop Foreman

Specifically, in the panel shop, there’s a continued commitment to executing work in a safe manner, identifying hazards, and communicating on a daily basis through the daily safety plan to keep everyone aware. This, coupled with the weekly tool box talk and daily stretching, sends a powerful message that safety is at the top of the priority list.

“As leaders, we always follow up on safety concerns or near-misses with employees and customers to understand what can be done going forward to eliminate any future risk to people or property,” adds Terry Fredricks, Egan Company Panel Shop Foreman. “In addition, from a tool and process standpoint, continued investments in leading technologies have assisted in achieving our safety goals.

Safety remains the number one priority at Egan Company – across all business units and teams. The leadership team and dedicated safety team empowers and holds every employee accountable to the highest level of safety possible. Thanks to the many advocates across all levels of our Company that promote safety excellence, safety is a long-standing standard and foundation of our culture.

Summit Brews in Newest Expansion

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015

2015_SummitBrewingExpansion (9)The Summit Brewing Company has seen popularity and demand skyrocket in recent years. Though they’re well-known for producing craft beer, they are by no means a small operation. The Summit headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., is the 28th largest brewery in the U.S., and it’s where Egan recently completed a revamp of electrical infrastructure for their newest expansion.

Summit began their ambitious development initiative in 2012, which included construction of a brand-new cellar (prior to Egan involvement) and then the purchasing and repurposing of an adjacent facility. The refurbished facility contains several new additions, and the entire electrical layout needed to be rearranged to accommodate the new equipment.

“Summit leaned on us to make the facility mesh together well,” said Mitch Schanus, Egan Company Foreman, “which is crucial when you’re looking to house an office, bar, and brewery environment in one building.”

When Summit’s primary electrical person retired several years ago, Egan was brought on thanks, in part, to an old connection. Egan Project Manager Randy Kalthoff and Summit COO Tom Thomasser had worked on a construction project together twenty years earlier in La Cross, Wisc. Kalthoff recognized the name on a project bid and reached out soon after.

“Tom and the Summit team started with a pretty general layout in mind for the building,” said Kalthoff. “Our expertise helped fill in the gaps to get them the most out of the space available.”

Egan worked with Summit’s broad specifications to essentially design and build the entire facility’s refurbishments.
The grand opening for the revamped facility took place in April, with Egan and Summit employees, beer enthusiasts, and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman in attendance. All of Summit’s facilities now receive regular maintenance from Egan electricians, a pleasant task when paired with a quick trip to the beer hall after a hard day’s work.

The Summit Brewing Project is a refurbished, 40,000 square foot, industrial/office facility with 3.5 acres of land. The work entailed complete rewiring, upgraded main service, new LED lighting, and a remodel of infrastructure for the office, training room, kitchen, and bar areas.

Egan Services Performed: Design-build of electrical infrastructure.