Background:
The Lowe's Regional Distribution Center Construction project was completed in
2007 and involved building a $100 million, 1.4 million square foot facility located at Route 20 and
Montague Road in Rockford, IL. The facility includes super flat concrete floors, a structural steel
and metal deck framing system, pre-cast wall panels, and office build-out for warehouse and office
space. The facility, which is the size of approximately 30 football fields under one roof, has more
than five miles of conveyors moving 32,000 products through the facility. The center, the first in
Illinois, serves more than 100 Lowe's stores in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan.
Success Impact:
Injury and Illness Rates
Ragnar Benson Construction had 26 first-tier subcontractors on this project. Including the work done
by Ragnar, the subcontractors worked a total of 254,520 hours. There were twelve second- and
third-tier subcontractors on the project that worked a total of 34,700 hours for a grand total of
289,290 hours spent completing the project. The project had no lost time injuries and had only two
OSHA recordable injuries.
Injury and Illness Rates Below BLS Industry Average – Total
Case Incident Rate (TCIR) and Days Away, Restricted and Transfer (DART)
The average TCIR rate on this project was 1.4. Using the 2005 Nonresidential Building Construction
Injury and Illness Rate from the BLS of 5.4, the project TCIR rate was 74% below the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) national average for that industry.
| |
TCIR |
DART |
Fatalities |
Hours worked |
| Length of Project (6.5 Months) |
1.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
289,290 |
| BLS Industry National Average for Most Recent Year |
5.4 |
2.6 |
N/A |
N/A |
Promoting a Culture of Safety and Health
Over the course of the Partnership, daily and monthly inspections were conducted at the worksite.
Hazards observed were corrected in a timely manner. One enforcement verification inspection was
conducted, but no citations were issued.
One major emphasis of this Partnership was to increase safety and health training. Over 225
employees, including supervisors, received over 600 hours of training. Each employee working at the
site received site-specific orientation prior to working at the site.
During Partnership meetings, Partnership members discussed OSHA policy and standards. This included,
but was not limited to, application of NFPA 70E, fall protection, the powered industrial truck
standard, housekeeping, and personnel protection equipment (PPE) use.
Partnership Objectives:
The primary goal of this Partnership was to reduce serious injuries and
illnesses and provide a safe and healthy work environment for employees at the Lowe's Regional
Distribution Center. Employee involvement was a key part of this initiative, and the increased
number of safety and health programs and best practices that were implemented among subcontractors
are indicative of this. Another important element of this Partnership involved an increase in the
number of employees, employers, and supervisors who participated and completed relevant safety
training.
Origin: Region V, Aurora Area Office
Partners: Lowe's Regional Distribution Center Construction Project,
United States Department OF Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
North Aurora Area Office
Partnership Signed: July 2006
Industry: Construction (NAICS Code 236210, SIC Code 1541)
Employees: 250
Employers: 38
Source and Date: Nancy Quick, Region V, Aurora Area Office (November, 2007)
Status: Closed
Inside of the facility of the Lowe's Regional Distribution Center Construction project
Lowe's Regional Distribution Center Construction project workers wearing PPE
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