This is the post excerpt.
This is my very first post. With this blog, we hope to cover the construction industry issues that are important to the AEC industry in Pennsylvania. While the Keystone Contractors Association cover most of the state, we may not be in the know on all issues. If you’d like to guest write, please let me know. You can either email me (Jon@KeystoneContractors.com) or call the KCA (717.731.6272). I’ll be sure to promote you and/or your company to make it worth your while for contributing something.
With the NFL Draft upon us, I thought it was an appropriate time to share my attempt to answer the important question that Pennsylvanians ponder: Can a Pittsburgh sports fan like and respect a Philadelphia athlete? Below is the response. This article appears in the Spring 2023 edition of the Keystone Contractor Magazine, to view the entire issue please visit: https://issuu.com/atlasmarketing/docs/the_keystone_magazine_spring_2023_final_issuu_0420?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sharpspring&sslid=MzcxtzQwMjE1MbcwAwA&sseid=MzI1MTUzNzOyNAAA&jobid=8e832794-eea0-4ecd-80ef-31f10ccb9ec3
Insights from the Executive Director
In my life, no two days are the same. I might find myself walking a jobsite talking to the superintendent one day and maybe the next day I’m meeting with a senator to promote workforce recruitment initiatives, then following that I might be speaking to high school seniors about careers in construction. But the one constant, regardless of whom I’m with, it seems like we always spend some time talking about sports. Full disclosure, I’m a sports junkie.
I see a lot of similarities in business and in sports: strategizing to chase success; overcoming challenges; working as a team. And I think in both sports and business, one can apply lessons learned from one to the other.
In this year’s Super Bowl, there are a few examples that can be applied to construction. The Philadelphia Eagles had one heck of a season and came up a little short in the end. But what can learn from them? One major takeaway for me is that they have a strong leader. Jalen Hurts is one impressive individual. And yes, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan can be impressed by a Philadelphia athlete.
Through Jalen Hurts’ actions and words, he showed how to be accountable for your actions and he placed an emphasis on having a strong culture. He played a lights out, awesome game, with the exception of one play (I won’t rub salt in Eagle fans wounds and discuss the play – you know the play I’m referring to). His response after the game:
“I always hold myself to a very high standard in everything I do. Obviously, I try to control things I can. I touch the ball on every play. I want to protect it. It hurt us. You never know what play it will be. I don’t do this to be loved. I don’t do this to be hated. I don’t do this to seek anybody else’s approval. I do it for all the guys in the locker room. I do it for all the time we invested in this.”
Jalen Hurts demonstrated how a person who is accountable for his actions speaks. This football star realizes and embraces the benefits of a strong culture.
The following article first appeared in the Keystone Contractor Magazine’s Spring 2023 edition. To view the entire issue visit: https://issuu.com/atlasmarketing/docs/the_keystone_magazine_spring_2023_final_issuu_0420?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sharpspring&sslid=MzcxtzQwMjE1MbcwAwA&sseid=MzI1MTUzNzOyNAAA&jobid=8e832794-eea0-4ecd-80ef-31f10ccb9ec3
The Impacts of an Inefficient, Cumbersome Law
The Separations Act – Wasting Tax Dollars Since May 1, 1913
By Jon O’Brien
President Theodore Roosevelt was among the admirers of Pennsylvania’s new Capitol building at the dedication ceremony on Oct. 4, 1906.
“This is the handsomest State Capitol I ever saw,” the president said as he entered.
While it was a magnificent building, the project was way over budget – three times more than the legislature allocated.
The subsequent investigation resulted in a law that, while well-intended at the time to protect taxpayers from fraud, is no longer relevant today. Instead, it is costing taxpayers money because it requires inefficient construction methods on public projects.
That $7.7 million Capitol overrun – the equivalent of more than $211 million today – triggered a probe that revealed grafting. Capitol architect Joseph Huston, superintendent of construction James Shumaker, general contractor John Sanderson, state Auditor William Snyder and state Treasurer William Matheus were sentenced to prison.
With little financial stewardship, each convicted individual had profited tremendously. But this sort of illegal activity wasn’t just happening at the Capitol project – it was the norm on public projects at the time.
Fast forward to 1913. Public outrage over the scandal remained. There was pressure on public officials to do something. Republican Gov. John Tener, a former congressman and major league baseball player, signed the Separations Act.
It mandated multiple prime contractors on all public construction projects. The thought was that the more eyes there were on the project, the less likely that there could be collusion for fraud.
Perhaps 110 years ago, enacting the Separations Act made sense due to the circumstances at the time. Other states imposed similar rules.
But in this day and age, every cent can be easily tracked. Every other state has done away with their laws because they recognized they were outdated and that providing options in construction delivery methods is the most-efficient way to spend tax dollars on construction.
Pennsylvania continues to cling to its law. Here’s how that is hurting taxpayers by driving up the price of constructing public buildings.
Requiring multiple prime contractors – one for HVAC, one for electrical, one for plumbing and one for general trades – means the owner must bid out and manage four separate contracts.
The primes are not contractually connected and this impedes communication with each other. This lack of contractual relationship also hurts the communication between the architect and the primes. Each prime contractor and the architect are directly contracted with the project owner – like a school district, municipality or other government entity – and because of that all communication runs through the project owner.
The lack of a single point of contact from the construction team creates a nightmare of a scenario for the owner. It’s inefficient and cumbersome.
Most problematic is it eliminates the possibility of collaboration during pre-construction, which is a more-efficient method of construction. If early collaboration were allowed between the project architect and a single construction manager, projects would proceed more smoothly. Hurdles could be anticipated and resolved in advance. Without collaboration, expertise from the construction team is sparse, if at all, during the design phase.
Legislation has been proposed several times in recent years that would do away with or amend the Separations Act.
During a legislative budget hearing in 2017, state Secretary of General Services Curt Topper testified that the Separations Act “requires that we do business less efficiently than we could otherwise do business.”
He said the old law “effectively sets up a situation where it is much more difficult to design a project, to bid a project and to manage a project. So, I’d love to see us address that problem.”
Yet the law remains on the books.
Its inefficiency is well-documented.
From 2000 to 2010, public education projects could opt out of the Separations Act through the Education Empowerment Act that was enacted during Gov. Tom Ridge’s administration. Seventy school districts applied for the waiver during that period, an indication of the unpopularity of the Separations Act.
The Allegheny Conference reviewed some of those projects and issued a report concluding that savings of between $8,000 to $2.5 million were achieved on school construction projects that used a single prime contractor instead of multiple primes.
Kennett Consolidated School District did one project with a single prime and one with multiple primes per the Separations Act. The single prime project was finished two months ahead of schedule and $300,000 under budget. The multiple prime project came in over budget. This is just one the many examples to show that the Separations Act is costly to taxpayers.
There is a long line of organizations, trade unions and governments that are lobbying for modernization of the Separations Act.
They include: Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, National Federation of Independent Businesses PA Chapter, Pennsylvania School Board Association, Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, PA Association of Rural and Small Schools, Green Building Alliance, Green Building United, U.S. Green Building Council Central PA, Keystone Contractors Association, Master Builders’ Association of Western Pennsylvania, National Utility Contractors Association Pennsylvania chapter, Association for Responsible and Ethical Procurement, Carpenter Contractor Trust, Construction Legislative Council of Western Pennsylvania, Design-Build Institute of America, General Contractors Association of Pennsylvania, General Building Contractors Association, Cement Masons Local 526, Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania.
Many public owners want to modernize the Separations Act and a few of the more vocal ones include: Philadelphia School District, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, Peters Township School District, Cumberland Valley School District and Community College of Allegheny County.
Jon O’Brien is Executive Director of both the Keystone Contractors Association and the General Contractors Association of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at 717-731-6272 and Jon@KeystoneContractors.com.
Last week my dad, my first mentor in life, came across some old papers while he was cleaning out his attic. He gave me something that I had forgotten about, but I’m sure glad he kept it all these years. He found the letter to the editor submission of mine that ran in the Harrisburg Patriot News in 2004.
I was feeling on top of the world in 2004 – I had been married two years and Melody and I were enjoying life. I had a decent job, not the dream job, but it supported us, plus we were expecting our first child. I know I didn’t get to where I am without the many amazing people in my life that went out of their way to mentor me. I started writing to some of them to show them I was thankful for them and to let them know that I was thinking of them.
Around this time, I heard my high school football coach was retiring from teaching so I penned the OpEd you see below. I am so fortunate to have had this run in the newspaper, as my coach’s wife said he was so thrilled to see this. Plus, after it ran on a trip home to visit my parents, I paid him a visit and got a big bearhug from him and we spent the day just hanging out and talking. I was fortunate because Coach Lichtel would pass from prostate cancer a few years after, but like all the times we spent together while I was in high school, memories of him will live on just like the life lessons I learned from him.
Make sure your mentors know that you appreciate them.
Patriot News Letter to the Editor as it was written in 2004:
Coach Licthel, thanks for being a role model
Recently I watched a sentimental tribute to Pat Tillman, the NFL player turned Army Ranger. After viewing the televised program, I had no trouble seeing why all of America is mourning the loss of this fallen soldier. It was evident to me that Tillman became the person he was because of the cast of role models that he was associated with while he was maturing.
After the ESPN special, I searched within myself to see what role models can claim responsibility for how I evolved from a young kid running the streets of Mechanicsburg to a mature father-to-be, enjoying a successful home and career life in Pittsburgh. I found some answers fairly quickly with mom and dad leading the pack, but one name surfaced that I hadn’t thought of for some time – Rich Lichtel.
I had known of Coach Lichtel while attending another high school in the area, but it wasn’t until I transferred to Mechanicsburg High School during the tail end of my sophomore year that I had truly come to know who he was.
He is a role model; he is a mentor; he is an educator; he is a hero; he is a friend. He was all these things to me when I was with him on a daily basis.
He was a man that took the extra time to make sure students – and not just football players – were doing OK. He cared about his profession and that was reflected in the kids that came in contact with him. He didn’t make school a place to go because you had to – all students of Mechanicsburg, no matter what social groupings they fell in, liked Coach Lichtel. He made the time to help those that needed help, whether it was lending an ear when a student had some troubles or cheering up a student when he or she needed to smile. He simply did whatever it took to reach the young minds in the school district of Mechanicsburg.
And, oh yeah, he was also a football coach. During the 1980s Mechanicsburg high school was renowned in high school football as a quarterback factory. The school churned out some good ones like the Hakels and the Abners. Producing quality quarterbacks is certainly no coincidence, since Lichtel himself was a remarkable quarterback in his younger years.
Prior to transferring to Mechanicsburg, one thing that excited me about the move was that I, a high school quarterback at the time, was going to receive football knowledge from a proven quarterback player and coach. But the first thing he wanted to do was to get to know me. He didn’t concentrate on instructing me on how to properly play the position, when what I really needed at the time was someone to make the extra time to be there for me.
Transferring high schools, especially in a situation similar to mine where negative labels were thrown on me, is difficult for kids and he didn’t assume any rumors to be true; instead he took the time to understand me. He cared more about the students of Mechanicsburg than winning games.
So, sure the name Rich Lichtel is associated with Mechanicsburg Wildcat football and rightly so. He won some games and a few league titles. He did alright on Friday nights, but that is only a part of his legacy.
I’m sure all of his compiled wins over the years have his name appearing on some elite coaching list in the central Pennsylvania area, if not the state or country yet something tells me he’s just as proud, if not prouder, knowing that there is a lot of mature adults around this country that have him to thank for being a positive role model in their life. I know I would like to thank him.
So while Rich Lichtel is retiring from teaching, but remember that his teachings will never retire. I, like the rest of his former students, plan to instill the values that he taught naturally on a daily basis to my future child. Generations will benefit from his position as a role model.
Enjoy your retirement, Coach Lichtel! And thanks for being a role model in the Mechanicsburg area.
The NFL playoffs continue, as we are now awaiting today’s AFC and NFC Conference Championship games. There are two good games scheduled for today with the Eagles and 49ers playing first and then the Chiefs take on the Bengals. But before we look ahead, let’s look back at last week’s Divisional contests to see what, if anything, we can take away from those games.
It Takes A Team To Succeed
To me the most important part of Chiefs-Jaguars game was when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes got injured and missed a portion of the game. The next time the Chiefs get the ball without their star player they find themselves inside the five-yard line. What do the Chiefs offensive coaches do? They show right away that they have faith in the backup quarterback and they do the unexpected and throw the ball on the first play. They then turn to their offensive line and have them to lead the way and they did not let their team down, providing running room for their running backs to pick up over sixty yards on the drive on their way to a second quarter touchdown. Football, like business, is team sport and it takes everyone to succeed. The backup quarterback must stay mentally in the game and be ready any second to go in. Plus when your leader is missing, others need to step up and the line did just that.
On paper the Eagles should walk all over the Giants. The two teams played twice this season, with the Eagles winning both. The Eagles, much like every other team, set a goal of winning the Super Bowl and as the season goes on many of those teams begin to realize that their goal is unrealistic but when you are the top seed with home field advantage, you should have the confidence to know that your goal is achievable. This goal cannot be achieved with this game nor can you look ahead and overlook your opponent. The Eagles understand that this game is part of the process and they need this victory for their ultimate goal. They kept their foot on the gas long enough to suck the life out of their opponent – close games are good for ratings, but their mission is win it all. The goal remains.
Stay Focused on Your Mission
And on paper, the Bengals and Bills match up should be the best game of the weekend. The Bengals and Bills have the same goal as the Eagles, and both also have a realistic shot at achieving it. But you could tell early on what team wanted to earn the next step towards that goal. From the start of the game, the Bengals knew they had to have this victory and they went out and got their opponent to mentally give up fairly early in the contest. By the end of the first quarter, one could tell by the players’ body language which team was going to win and the only question I had was how much the Bills would lose by. Now with this next observation I’m not saying the Bills have weak leadership, since I don’t follow them that closely, but teams, like companies, can sometimes turn things around when things are going bad and I didn’t see anyone appearing to step up and rally the troops. There were times when the camera panned over their sidelines and their quarterback was sitting all alone. Meanwhile the Bengals played with a purpose.
Every Moment is Big
For the Cowboys and 49ers game, there’s one play that sticks out to me. It was an innocent looking play in the middle of the game, but perhaps it could have changed the outcome. It was the middle of the third quarter in a 9-9 tied contest. The Cowboys get the ball inside their ten-yard line and on the first play of this drive quarterback Dak Prescott throws a beautiful deep ball down the left sideline and CeeDee Lamb makes a great catch while being interfered with by the defender. With the long reception, field position is flipped and momentum is with the Cowboys. But then it happened. Lining up on the 49ers side of the field, Prescott throws a catchable ball to the tight end Dalton Schultz who would have picked up at least ten to fifteen yards, move the chains and get closer to scoring, but it is dropped. Schultz was closely covered, but that’s catch that a professional player is expected to make. Following the drop, the Cowboys unsuccessfully try to gain a first down on the next two plays and they find themselves with fourth down and five yards to go on the field where a field goal could be tried or they could go for it or they could punt. With momentum on their side, and their defense playing well to this point, they opt to punt. The 49ers take the ball and the momentum to march eighty-six yards for the go-ahead touchdown and they do not give the lead back.
In sports people always tend talk about the last few plays of a game as the difference between victory or defeat, heck I saw an article written about the Cowboys formation on the last play of the game – that play was a nonfactor to the outcome. But oh what could have been for the Cowboys if that catch was made. In sports, as in business, be prepared to seize the moment when it is presented.
With the divisional round behind us, I can’t wait to see what happens on Championship Sunday.
Last weekend, January 14-16, 2023, there were six NFL football playoff games played. Great games – some expected outcomes, two surprisingly close games and an upset. I can’t wait for this weekend’s games, but first let’s take a quick look back and see what, if anything, we can learn and apply to our life.
The Game I wanted to Watch Most from the First Week of the Playoffs:
The game I was most excited about entering the playoffs was watching the Jacksonville Jaguars, and specifically watching Trevor Lawrence. I see so many comparisons with Sidney Crosby and Lawrence – both built monster reputations prior to making the leap to the professional level and both are amazing leaders at a young age, plus both appear to place mastering their craft as a top priority (I’m not seeing/hearing any mention of either one taking political stances or any other distraction that shifts their mind from their mission) and both make average players on their teams better. The latter is the biggest connection I see in that both take a normal professional athlete and make them something special. Since I see a little Sid the Kid in Lawrence, I was excited to watch the Jags first playoff performance with him at QB. I was not disappointed and here is my takeaway from this game that can be applied to life:
If things don’t start the way you wanted them to, who cares get over it and stick to the mission. The Jags were down 27-0 before they got on the scoreboard and Lawrence’s first postseason pass was an interception. Lawrence would throw four INTs in the first half – it was ugly, but the coaches and Lawrence felt confident. In business you need a buy in to the mission and this is top down. The leadership in your company needs to set the course and it has to be communicated to the team. Constant communication can keep the team engaged and this was demonstrated on the Jags sideline when the team kept talking and sharing ideas on how to improve each play. For me it was enjoyable to watch the scheming on the sidelines of the Jags with everyone involved – I saw Lawrence breaking it down with coaches, skill players and linemen. On the flipside, there were shots of the opponent’s quarterback, Chargers’ Justin Herbert, sitting by himself. Takeaway: keep everyone together and make sure lines of communication are open to share best practices.
Will Lawrence and Jags go on and hold the Lombardi trophy in a few weeks? I doubt it, at least for this season, but I think it will happen soon, maybe next season or the one after. Going back to my comparisons of Sid and Lawrence, remember Sid was exited quickly in his first playoff experience (and in his second playoff experience he got really close but was denied again but the third season it happened). Get better every practice and successes will follow.
Here are a few of my takeaways from other week one NFL playoff games:
In the words of Eminem: If you had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment would you capture it or just let it slip away. Both Brock Purdy and Daniel Jones seized the opportunity and put together complete, awesome games in their first playoff game. Either one could have had nervous jitters that could have led to errors and no one would have thought less of them and people would have just considered it a learning experience, but each stood tall and relied on their abilities to lead their respective teams. Trust in yourself and trust in your team and good things can happen.
Keep it simple. Buffalo Bills found themselves in an unexpected close game against the Miami Dolphins. And I thought David was going to upset Goliath but…. When it mattered most the Dolphins overthought the situation which led to their demise. It was fourth down and one yard to go late in a game where they were huge underdogs and the Dolphins found themselves in a situation where they could have won the game or at least tied it up and extended it to overtime but instead they got a delay penalty – just run a quarterback sneak and move the chains. Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest ones.
Ignore your naysayers. We’ve all heard the Dallas Cowboys are choke artists and the players have heard it too. The last time the Cowboys won a road playoff game the grey-haired author of this article was a junior in high school. Where were you in life thirty years ago? A lot of the players on the Cowboys weren’t even alive the last time their franchise won a road game, but oh they heard about it as the media kept asking about it for their stories. The best way to shut your critics up is to produce. Not everyone is going to believe in you, but who cares just do your thing and do it well.
Have fun. Lastly make life fun and celebrate your successes. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals found themselves in a barnburner, a good ole AFC North slugfest. With it all tied up late in the game the Bengals team captain, defensive end Sam Hubbard grabbed a loose football and took it 98 yards for the go ahead game-winning touchdown. He’s a team captain and should have handed the football to the refs after scoring right? No way, spike that ball and have fun celebrating with your teammates in front of the fans. The only thing better would have been if Hubbard did the griddy dance, but hey he just ran the length of the field and was a little winded so we’ll cut him a break. Take time to celebrate your successes.
January 12, 2023 – This week the KCA Safety Committee hosted its bimonthly virtual meeting that featured a presentation by Steve McCarty of McConkey Insurance & Benefits titled Effective Accident Investigations – Going Beyond Blame. Great topic and an excellent speaker that really delivered some fine points for contractors to think about when accidents occur. Plus, Mr. McCarty provided some helpful resources. To check out the presentation please visit: January 2023 KCA Safety Committee Presentation.
Next on the agenda for the KCA: the MLK Day of Service. This year marks Harrisburg’s 14th MLK Day of Service. On Monday, January 16, 2023 at 9 AM, the the KCA will join the Wildheart Team for the Love The Hill Day event. This event will be a total cleanup to prepare the Allison Hill community for this year’s activities.
The KCA is proud to help the Wildheart organization next week. An initiative of Wildheart is the Love The Hill Days, with the hill being Allison Hill. Some notable accomplishments of this organization which started in 2017 include: 2,333 volunteers providing 42,281 manhours to remove 2.3 million pounds of trash, 117 abandoned structures boarded up and 278 planter boxes constructed.
The KCA team of volunteers look forward to joining the Wildheart team on Monday to improve those aforementioned stats. We hope that you can join us. I find that giving back to the community is an excellent way to recharge your mind as you can temporarily put aside your worries and concerns associated with your daily work issues and focus making someone else’s day better. Well, at least I feel more productive and energized after volunteering for a good cause when I return to the office. Give it a shot and see if you get that same boost when work resumes.
To join the KCA team please contact Seth Kohr at SethKohr@KeystoneContractors.com or 717-736-9131.
Recently I was driving with one of my daughters and as we went through the construction road project she says, “dad do you know that guy?” She was asking about the flagger who was directing traffic as we entered the construction zone.
I told her I did not know that individual and how I wave to all flaggers. She responded with, “yeah I know you wave all the time, but that guy smiled when he waved back, and it looked like he knows you.”
After we drove through the jobsite, I went on to explain why I wave to the flaggers: Try putting yourself in someone else’s shoes in life. If you have a job where you see people all day long, would you rather see people who look at you, appreciate your role and give you a friendly smile? Or would you rather encounter people all day long that ignore you?
Every job is important and serves a purpose, that’s why employers pay workers for their efforts. Using the construction flagger as an example, can imagine life without the flaggers – it would be chaos without them, and I appreciate the order and safety they bring to our roadways.
I didn’t expect to have this discussion with my daughter as we drove to her cheer practice, but I’m glad we took advantage of the moment. Life lessons are all around, just look for the signs and make the most when the opportunity arises.
This Veterans Day let’s all step up our appreciation for our country’s heroes. It’s a nice gesture when we see a Veteran to say ‘Thank you for your service’ but it doesn’t have to end with that. Ask the Veteran how they’re doing or how they’re day is going or if they’re looking for a civilian career.
As you may know Veterans have one of the highest suicide rates in the country. In the recently released 2022 National Veterans Suicide Prevention Annual Report by the Veteran Affairs, it was reported that in 2020 (the most recent data) 6,146 Veterans took their life. Suicide is now the 12th leading cause of death in America and it continues to hit the Veteran population hard. According to the recent VA report, Pennsylvania was the fifth highest on the list with 240 Veteran Suicides. Our state’s annual number has dropped every year since 2017 when we lost 294 Veterans, but at 240 we have lots of work to do and we’re not moving fast enough as we strive to reach zero.
Finances and lack of purpose could be two reasons why one might contemplate this fatal decision. The construction industry offers family-sustaining careers in both professional and labor positions. Construction professionals take pride in building Pennsylvania and with the strong work ethic Veterans are equipped to be successful in this industry.
This year the KCA, in partnership with our labor allies, went to great lengths to educate organizations and individuals who work with Veterans as they transition from the military to civilian life. The Carpenters and Laborers unions have been excellent stewards of the industry and together we worked with both to talk about the benefits of working in this industry, the type of positions and guidance for entering. We are not done either. For the remainder of this year and for the foreseeable future we plan to continue this outreach. If you are interested in learning how you and your organization can get involved, please let the KCA know.
In closing, this Veterans Day saying ‘Thank you for your service’ is appreciated, but remember you never know what a person is going through by simply looking at them and giving a passerby message. A little conversation can go a long way and can be the best way to show your appreciation.
Tomorrow is the start of Construction Opioid Awareness Week.
Working with our industry partners, we developed five videos and toolbox talk materials on five important topics for this year’s awareness week. A daily email will be delivered first thing in the morning each day to the KCA’s safety email list. If you are not on this list and would like access to the videos, please let us know by sending an email to Jon@KeystoneContractors.com.
The theme to this year’s week is: return to the basics. We started this opioid awareness week in 2017, and the construction industry, much like society in general, was trending in the right direction concerning opioids, addiction and general wellness, but then 2020 came. During the past two years we have seen an increase in addiction and suicide rates and it appears to be a good time to return the basics. We picked five video topics that may appear elementary like pain management and employee assistance programs, but we feel these topics need emphasis to get us trending back in the right direction.
Additionally, for the first year of Construction Opioid Awareness Week in 2017, we sent construction companies across the state “Opioids – Warn Me” stickers to be placed on medical and pharmacy cards. What may appear to be such a simple, basic message was just the opposite – it was extremely powerful to have an authority figurehead from a company (the person who signs the front of the check, executive, superintendent, etc.) personally distribute these stickers to their workers letting them know that they are an important part of this company. Please do not hesitate to contact the KCA if you would like more of these stickers for your company.
Lastly, please feel free to share any feedback or photos from your company participating in this year’s Construction Opioid Awareness Week.
Have you ever felt like you’ve gone back in time? Or that someone hit the rewind button on you? That’s how I feel when I look at the opioid issue and its impact on the construction industry.
In 2016 the Keystone Contractors Association conducted a needs-assessment of Pennsylvania’s construction industry. Concerning our construction labor workforce, one glaring topic needed attention and that’s education in the area of opioids/pain medication. Construction is tough on the body, no one denies that statement. When the aches, pains and injuries come, many turned to pills so that they could keep working. Five years ago, we heard story after story on how opioid addiction was wreaking havoc on our industry and our communities.
As a result of our findings, we knew we had to do something. Sure, there were ads to warn against opioid abuse from the government and healthcare systems, but I did not find channels that spoke directly to construction workers. Since I did not have much luck, in the summer of 2017 the KCA worked with industry allies in our state to create the Construction Opioids Awareness Week. This recognition week is the last full week of July and for it we arm construction employers with lots of resources to discuss pain medication use/abuse with their employees. It’s hard to gauge the success of a movement like this, but one indicator that I believe is crucial for success is if we get the construction industry talking about the issue. And over the next few years we had the industry talking – employees were talking to employers.
But then 2020 arrived. The KCA workforce went from building Pennsylvania to being non-essential (NOTE: Pennsylvania was the only state to shutdown construction during the COVID-19 pandemic). For a month and half during the Spring of 2020, the construction industry was shutdown and only healthcare and other projects continued. Then on May 1, 2020, Pennsylvania’s construction industry reopened, while the majority of businesses and schools remained closed or operating remotely.
2020 put a lot of stress on the construction workforce in our state. They went from being unimportant to some instances where workers were the lone person of a household to go into the COVID-19 elements and returning home not sure how to feel or how to interact with their family. Or for the workers who lived alone, it was worse – they went from being non-essential, sitting at home all alone to returning to work but not having the normal human contact after work at such places as church, restaurants, etc.
Along with an increase in stress levels in 2020, the construction industry also experienced an increase in addiction and suicide rates. The sad part is that we were heading in the right direction entering 2020, but this unfortunate downward trend continued in 2021.
In 2022, we are ready to tackle the challenge of reversing these horrible trends happening in our communities. And like 2017, we are ready to make an impact on opioid awareness. We are going to make a difference by returning to the 2017 playbook – conversation is key to building a construction industry in Pennsylvania where people feel comfortable enough to seek help.
For this year’s Construction Opioid Awareness Week, we are encouraging construction companies to reengage on the topic and work to get valuable resources to the workforce while making sure our workforce knows they are respected and appreciated, plus they know it’s ok to ask for help. We want the same energy and passion the industry displayed in the years leading up to 2020 to help our workforce.
This year’s week is July 25 to 29. During this week we encourage companies to participate in the week by offering the following safety toolbox talks:
We hope Pennsylvania’s construction industry will join us for a trip back in time when we were helping the lives of our fellow construction professionals. Hopefully, we can create an environment where those needing help know that we are there to assist them.
For more information on the 2022 Construction Opioids Awareness Week, as well as toolbox talks on the topics listed above, please visit: https://keystonecontractors.com/Opioid-Awareness/.
Building Pennsylvania 