CHICAGO, IL – As the construction industry recognizes Safety Week 2026 under the theme “All In Together,” here at F.H. Paschen, we are focusing on the practical habits that protect our teams from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic and down to the Gulf Coast. While this important week serves as an industry-wide checkpoint and a moment to rally our colleagues, one thing will never change: our approach to safety everyday is a permanent and critical operational standard for F.H. Paschen.
Our company-wide safety culture starts at the top with our leaders holding a strong commitment to risk management. Leading the effort is our Safety Committee, which meets weekly to review every project, and extends to the daily Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) performed by our crews on job sites large and small.
By identifying high-energy risks even before a shovel hits the ground, we have worked hard to earn an Experience Modification Rating of 0.70 for the 2025/2026 period. That’s significantly better than the industry average, but we’re not resting on our laurels.
Our multi-year safety journey includes everything from transitioning from hard hats to modern safety helmets to elevating conversations around mental health and overall well-being. Each day, we continue to strengthen our commitment to protecting our most critical asset: our people. Along the way, we’ve also built stronger partnerships and launched initiatives that drive safer, more accountable jobsites like incorporating third-party safety audits, enhanced internal safety audits and working to ensure that safety discussions are incorporated into our Three-Phase Quality Program, which is modeled after US Army Corps of Engineers and includes preliminary, follow-up, and final inspections for each definable feature of work.
Practically-speaking right now, the Safety team at FHP is emphasizing three core actions: recognizing high-risk hazards, responding with the right controls, and respecting the authority of every worker to stop a job if they see an unsafe condition.
“Safety is a shared responsibility that our teams carry every day,” says Marcus LuMaye, Vice President of Safety and Quality at F.H. Paschen. “The most important thing we build is the confidence of our crews and the families who expect them to return home at the end of their shift. We are using this week to hold meaningful stand-downs focused on fall protection to ensure our teams have the right resources and training to stay protected on site.”
The commitment to these standards has earned F.H. Paschen consistent industry-wide recognition, including the Great Lakes Construction Association 2025 Safety Award and the 2023 Safety Award from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).
These accolades reflect the discipline of our project managers and tradespeople who treat safety as a prerequisite for quality work.
Technology is also playing a role in keeping our employees safe. Our teams track all safety audit data using SiteSpecs, our cloud-based construction management application and tailor our safety training to specific needs based on on-going inputs.
The jobsite safety momentum continues this week as we host our annual safety picnic. This event allows our teams to step away from the jobsite, connect with colleagues, and reinforce the culture of care that defines our company. We’ll also award our annual Johnny B. Safety Award which was created by the F.H. Paschen Safety Committee in 2018 and named in honor of former employee John “Johnny B.” Barkowski.
To be eligible for this award, the employee must exceed in three categories: 1) successfully execute our Safety and Quality Control approach, 2) lead the men and women on our jobsites with a proactive, safety-focused approach, and 3) carry-out the legacy of John Barkowski.
Past winners of the Johnny B. Safety Award are:
- 2018: Jeremy Roach
- 2019: Jason Pope
- 2020: Jason Cox
- 2021: Brian Dowdle
- 2022: Steve Hayes
- 2023: Travis Manteufel & Rick Bartelt
- 2024: Steve Boudreau
- 2025: Vicki Caruso
At F.H. Paschen, we don’t just follow safety protocols to meet a requirement. We do it to protect our most valuable asset: our people.