Construction Safety Professional of the Year (CSPY) & Construction Safety Champion of the Year (CSCY) Awards

Construction professionals with excellent leadership skills are critical to the efforts of construction firms across the country to achieve their goals of injury-free jobsites.  To highlight the successes of these professionals, and to honor their commitment and dedication to ensuring the men and women in the construction industry are afforded a safe and healthy work environment, AGC and Milwaukee Tool have partnered to present the Construction Safety Professional of the Year and Construction Safety Champion of the Year awards.

These awards are presented to a safety and health professionals and front-line supervisors/field personnel who have led their company to achieving an exceptionally high degree of safety excellence.  These individuals have demonstrated technical expertise in the field of safety and health, contributed to the advancement of safety and health with innovative ideas, and shown leadership in establishing, maintaining, and implementing programs at the jobsite and among their direct reports. 

The online application opens in early October each year and closes in early November. Applications will be reviewed and judged by members of the national AGC Safety & Health Committee and representatives of Milwaukee Tool. Winners will be recognized at the AGC Construction Safety & Health Conference, held in January each year.

Construction Safety Professional of the Year (CSPY)

The Construction Safety Professional of the Year (CSPY) award is dedicated specifically to construction safety professionals from AGC member companies (excluding safety consultants). Nominees can either be corporate, regional or project safety and health professionals.

The 2024 AGC CSPY competition is now closed. The winner will be announced at the 2024 Construction Safety & Health Conference, in Newport Beach, CA. The 2025 AGC CSPY competition will open in mid-September 2024. The application link will be posted on this webpage.  

 

2024 Construction Safety Professional of the Year

Jamie Dabbs, CSP, ASP, CRIS
Vice President, Safety Health and Environmental, TDIndustries
 

Jamie Dabbs is currently Vice President, Safety Health and Environmental for TDIndustries.... He attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Safety and Health. He secured an internship with the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and then he obtained a position working as a Safety manager within a manufacturing plant in Oklahoma City.

Realizing that he wanted to broaden his experience beyond manufacturing, he sought opportunities in construction. He assumed a role with McCarthy Building Companies, a well-established general contractor based in St. Louis, MO, and was introduced to TDIndustries.

Dabbs began his tenure with TDIndustries, a premier mechanical construction firm, in 2008 as Corporate Safety Manager. His career steadily advanced over the next 15 years and, in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he assumed his current role as Vice President of Safety, Health, and Environmental.

Dabbs and his team have overseen major construction and facilities maintenance projects in a variety of industries, including, but not limited to, sports arenas, multi-family and office complexes, data centers, airports, educational institutions, medical and scientific research facilities and manufacturing plants.

Dabbs has grown TDIndustries' Safety Team from three individuals to over 23 experienced Safety professionals. He has pioneered and implemented TDIndustries' best-in-class safety culture by championing the elite firm's Safety Vision of ZERO Harm, a mission-critical priority for the company for 2025 and beyond. ZERO Harm is the pursuit of work that results in zero serious injuries or fatalities (SIFs). Dabbs and his team have achieved this goal and intend to maintain it.

2023 Construction Safety Professional of the Year

Bob Kunz
Corporate Safety Director, Dimeo Construction Company
 

Bob Kunz is the Corporate Safety Director for Dimeo Construction Company, an ENR top 100 Construction Manager At-Risk with offices in Boston – New Haven – Providence.... Kunz has over 30 years of building and civil construction, and surface mining experience. He has held his current position for 15 years. Kunz has assumed several leadership positions in the safety community, including serving as the past chairperson of the AGC Rhode Island safety committee, as the chairperson of the AGC Massachusetts safety committee, as a member of the Board of Directors and AGC America Board of Governors for the AGC Massachusetts, and serving as the steering committee chairperson of Building SAFER in Rhode Island, an OSHA alliance with the RI construction industry. He is a lifelong learner and has identified new ways to strengthen jobsite safety climate and safety leadership and improve worker mental health by implementing innovative training, educational, and assessment tools. He is also dedicated to training the new generation of safety professionals as a member of the America Society of Safety Professionals and as advisory board member for the Construction Safety Sciences degree program at Keene State College.

2022 Construction Safety Professional of the Year

Eric Simmons, MBA, CSP
Corporate Safety Director, Helix Electric
 

Eric Simmons is the Corporate Safety Director for Helix Electric, a large national electrical contractor.... Simmons has over 25 years of construction experience and is a licensed master electrician or contractor in 20 states. He is a lifelong learner, with both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Occupational Safety and Health and an MBA with an emphasis in Human Resource Management. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in education. Simmons is also actively engaged in the safety community serving on several local and national safety committees and participating in multiple industry associations, including the American Society of Safety Professionals and the National Fire Protection Association. He is a member of the UL 745, UL 1088, and UL 1363 Standards Technical Panels, the ANSI A14 and ANSI A92 Committees, and the NFPA 70E and NFPA 350 Technical Committees. He is also an advisory board member for the Safety and Health degree program at Texas A & M, Commerce.

Construction Safety Champion of the Year (CSCY)

The Construction Safety Champion of the Year (CSCY) award is open to any foreman, superintendent, or project manager, from AGC member companies, that supervise work and is responsible for implementing established safety policies among their direct reports and skilled-trade partners.

The 2024 AGC CSCY competition is now closed. The winner will be announced at the 2024 Construction Safety & Health Conference, in Newport Beach, CA. The 2025 AGC CSCY competition will open in mid-September 2024. The application link will be posted on this webpage. 

2023 Construction Safety Champion of the Year

Christopher Smith
Site Superintendent, Motor City Electric
 

Safety has always been Chris’ number one priority each and every time he steps onto a new jobsite.... The daily reinforcement of safety both on and off the job keeps not only himself, but his team on site, striving to be aware of, and focused on his primary goal, which is to ensure the men and women under his supervision go home safely each and every night to their families. Through daily start of shift meetings with the crew discussing each task at hand, safety risks and exposures are mitigated. Proper PPE and job planning are key. He has 25 years of experience in the Electrical Industry. He has worked the last 12 years for Motor City Electric on various jobs such as Oil Refinery, Power Plants, Auto Plants, Gas Field Compressor Plants, Tape Manufacturing Plants, Paper Mills, and on an International Border Crossing Bridge. In order to be proficient as an Electrician and a Superintendent, Chris knows that continued education is a key component to stay current in the ever changing industry both from an installation and safety stand point. He is Certified in a range of areas including Medium Voltage Splicing, DTE Storm Restoration, NEC Code Updates, First Aid/CPR Training, Ariel Lift/Rig Trained and Certified, Confined Space Trained and Certified, Residential Safety Awareness Training, Buckeye L.I.V.E. Safe Certification and Marathon “Our Business Partner Leaders” Workshop.

 

2022 Construction Safety Champion of the Year

Matt Hendrie
Project Superintendent, Banicki Construction
 

Matt joined Banicki in 2015, serving as one of their lead structural superintendents.... Matt has been the lead structural superintendent on at least one bridge or structures intensive project every year he has been with Banicki. Since joining Banicki, Matt has also instrumental in leading their cultural safety change of achieving an Injury Free Environment (IFE). This means all activities can be safely performed in a completely Injury Free Environment if the proper planning, best practices, and safety engineering controls are implemented. Matt has ensured this IFE cultural safety mindset was achieved through detailed job hazard analyses he meticulously detailed and planned with structural foreman and carpentry crews to ensure the expectation of achieving an IFE was 100% bought off by Banicki’s work force. Having worked on unique bridge and complex structural projects with Banicki, Matt is directly responsible for raising the expectation level of Banicki’s safety planning to that of perfection while stressing the importance of developing meaningful relationships with Banicki’s work force.

 

This page was last updated on January 22, 2024. 

Industry Priorities