Health and Safety
Everyone at Michael Baker has an active role in health and safety, no matter their location or job function. We achieve the highest level of health and safety by providing the latest equipment, thorough procedures and training that educates employees about how to identify and avoid potential hazards. Our commitment to safety is supported by our corporate Health and Safety Policy Statement.
Demonstrated Success
We are proud of our exemplary safety record and ability to maintain rates below the industry average for engineering services per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employee Safety Empowerment
Michael Baker employees are required to complete mandatory Health and Safety trainings related to their specific roles. Also, the Michael Baker Health and Safety Department offers a variety of in-class safety trainings to meet our evolving safety needs.
In the field, our project managers proactively assess the hazards of their projects and ensure that their team members have the proper health and safety trainings completed, giving them the knowledge and skills to work safely in the face of hazards. Additionally, all Health and Safety Plans contain thorough and distinct guidelines for all team members, along with detailed directions on how to handle emergency situations.
Recognizing Excellence in Safety: S.L.A.M. Awards
Our Stop, Look, Assess, Manage (S.L.A.M.) Safety Award is an annual program recognizing a project team, service group or office that improved a safety process, contributed to our safety culture and achieved outstanding safety performance over a significant period of time.
2024 Winners
S.L.A.M. Construction Services Winner: Interstate 78 Reconstruction CM/CI Team
Interstate 78 links Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Lower Manhattan, serving as a vital route for the Lehigh Valley's warehouse and freight economy. The winding, hilly contours made it difficult for truck drivers to see traffic ahead of them, and the lacking shoulders left no room to pull over in an emergency. The I-78 Reconstruction project aimed to reduce the high crash and fatality rates in an 8-mile stretch by widening the shoulders along the corridor and adding dedicated climbing lanes for trucks.
Michael Baker provided construction inspection and management services from preconstruction through project completion and forensic analysis of the long-life concrete pavement. Michael Baker’s safety measures included: holding weekly safety briefings to reinforce relevant safety practices; providing staff with hard hats equipped with retroreflective stickers for higher visibility; and making upgrades to flashing yellow lights on vehicles to alert travelers when the inspection team was entering and exiting traffic lanes and construction work zones.
S.L.A.M. Field Services Winner: ConocoPhillips Spring Breakup Team
The Colville River is the largest river on Alaska’s North Slope, draining an area of approximately 23,000 square miles with over 30 distributary channels. Michael Baker has conducted hydrologic studies at the Colville River Delta since 1998 for ConocoPhillips Alaska’s North Slope Alpine Development.
Most of the project sites are accessible only by helicopter or tracked vehicles and the program setup is often conducted in below freezing conditions, among many other hazards. Year after year, Michael Baker executes an extensive field program that supports ConocoPhillips’ permit stipulations, permitting and NEPA documentation, early detection of potential flooding and ice movement, and informs infrastructure design of roads, culverts, bridges, gravel pads and pipelines.
Michael Baker’s safety measures included: implementing safety measures like holding daily safety meetings and operator briefings; wearing arctic survival gear during travel and carrying a survival kit and extra gear/supplies; and using Alpine facility radios when available, cell phones, emergency personal locator beacons (EPLBs) and satellite communications devices.
Learn more about these projects and our S.L.A.M. program.