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 professional and front-line supervisor/field personnel who has led his or her 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 2023 AGC CSPY competition is now closed. The winner will be announced at the 2023 Construction Safety & Health Conference, in New Orleans, LA. The 2024 AGC CSPY competition will open October 2, 2023 and the deadline for submission will be November 3, 2023. The application link will be posted on this webpage on October 2, 2023.
2023 Construction Safety Professional of the Year
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 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 2023 AGC CSPY competition is now closed. The winner will be announced at the 2023 Construction Safety & Health Conference, in New Orleans, LA. The 2024 AGC CSPY competition will open October 2, 2023 and the deadline for submission will be November 3, 2023. The application link will be posted on this webpage on October 2, 2023.
2023 Construction Safety Champion of the Year
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 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.