Labor Commissioner Dobson presents a certificate of partnership recognition to Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021

NCDOL, Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. Mark Completion of Safety Partnership with Ceremony

Charlotte
Dec 21, 2021

CHARLOTTE—The N.C. Department of Labor (NCDOL) and Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. celebrated the completion of the safety partnership for the design-build project to improve, up-size and replace sanitary sewer along the Irwin Creek Tributary to Irwin Creek Interceptor. Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson presented company officials with a certificate at the ceremony on Friday, Dec. 17, after giving brief remarks about the project.

“I want to congratulate Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. on the successful completion of the design-build project,” said Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson. “I appreciate their commitment to workplace safety and their willingness to partner with our Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Division. A project such as this with no serious lost time injuries is a major accomplishment and a testament to the prioritization of employee safety and health.”

The project consisted of two 60-inch micro tunnels under I-77 and three 48-inch horizontal bores, one of which was on Barringer Drive. The other two went under S. Tryon Road. The project included laying approximately 18,000 linear feet of 12-inch and 24-inch sewer pipe, 89 manholes, rock blasting as needed and bypass pumping the existing sewer lines.

“Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. would like to express how much we enjoyed being in a partnership with the OSH Division on the Irwin Creek project in Charlotte,” said Safety Director Roger Richards. “We as a company took away a lot of new ideas on job inspections and safety related things from the partnership. We also feel that the representatives that did the quarterly walk throughs learned from us about the different aspects of excavations and the micro tunneling that we do. Sanders Utility will be looking at doing another partnership with the OSH Division in the near future and would highly recommend this to other companies.”

NCDOL and Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. signed the safety partnership on March 4, 2020. The Labor Department’s OSH Division worked with Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. while providing guidance to improve employee safety and health, reduce injuries and illnesses, increase access to training and information, and develop safety and health management systems.

“Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. was NCDOL’s first partnership with a utility contractor and with a company of their size (65 employees),” said Safety Consultant Bruce Pearson. “We appreciated the opportunity to partner with Sanders Utility as the partnership helped both the employer and the OSH Division employees grow their knowledge of construction hazards and reduce the injury and illness rate in the construction industry. Sanders Utility conducts construction work in only eight counties surrounding the greater Charlotte area. The customer base for Sanders includes local municipalities, manufacturing, industrial, energy and other general contractors. Sanders successfully completed the project during the COVID pandemic, which in itself was quite challenging. Sanders completed this project with one recordable injury and illness during the project. Sanders is to be commended for their safety and health commitment.”

Sanders Utility Construction Co. Inc. is a family-owned company and was founded in 1957 by J.P. Sanders and his two sons. The company is recognized as one of the top civil general contractors in the region for water, sewer and stormwater projects, large and small, for both private and public sectors. 
 

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