AUSTIN, Texas - Contractor Patriot Erectors, Inc., a member of the Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT), is using outstanding safety performance to lower costs.

According to Rex Webb, the company’s secretary-treasurer, investments in safety programs improve the company’s profits—savings they can pass along to customers and employees, and reinvest in their safety program. “For one, our safety program has helped Patriot earn a credit experience modifier, which translates into tens of thousands of dollars of savings in workers’ compensation insurance premiums,” Webb said.

Parley Dixon, the president of Patriot Erectors, Inc., also recognized the hard work of Safety Director Jason Puckett for his role in advocating a company-wide culture of safety.

“We wanted someone with technical, hands-on knowledge, someone with awareness of safety issues,” Dixon said. A member of Iron Workers Local 482, Austin, Texas, Puckett brought a wealth of relevant experience to the position when Dixon hired him in 2008. Puckett is tasked with training fabrication plant and field personnel and developing written safety manuals for both shop and field activities, as well as safety training. In recognition of his commitment to safety, Puckett was recently named Safety Professional of the Year by the Austin Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

In addition, Puckett is highly regarded by both Patriot Erectors’s insurance agency risk management division and the insurance companies that write the company’s policies. “His persistence and claims management knowledge has resulted in very few claims and a more favorable general liability rate for our company,” Dixon said.

Patriot Erectors, Inc., is the recipient of numerous safety awards in recent years. In 2010, Clark Byrne, a general contractor, recognized Patriot’s perfect safety record in the construction of a terminal at the San Antonio International Airport. Patriot also received U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Safety Excellence Awards for work at Fort Bliss in 2010, Fort Sam Houston in 2011 and the Lackland Air Force Base in 2012. And, Patriot received AISC’s Safety Award of Honor for both field erection and shop fabrication in 2010 and 2011.

Patriot Erectors, Inc., is an AISC certified steel fabricator and erector and an employer of Ironworkers.

About the Iron Workers Union:The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IABSO&RIW) was founded in 1896 in Pittsburgh, Pa. They now represent more than 125,000 Ironworkers throughout the United States and Canada. The IABSO&RIW’s mission is to improve the working conditions of its members while promoting constructive relationships with their employers to increase work opportunities.

About IMPACT:The Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT) is an independent labor-management partnership designed to create work opportunities in the North American ironworking industry.  Our primary mission is to provide a forum for Ironworkers and signatory contractors to discuss effective strategies to expand job opportunities through innovative labor-management cooperative programs.  IMPACT provides expertise in training, construction certifications, marketing, construction project tracking and bidding, insurance and Davis-Bacon compliance efforts.  IMPACT also administers a world-class substance abuse program to ensure that Ironworkers are safe, drug-free and ready to work.

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Contact: Brennan Gamwell, Communications Manager, (800) 545-4921