Spotlight on the Gary E. Bird Horizon Award—Where Are They Now?
July 2005
The Gary E. Bird Horizon Award, given annually
at the IRMI Construction Risk Conference, recognizes excellence in construction
risk management. The purpose of the award is to identify innovative risk management
techniques and processes that have been successfully implemented in the construction
industry in the hope that the dissemination of information about these groundbreaking
programs will assist other members of the industry in developing their own best
practices.
by Christine Fuge
IRMI
This pay-it-forward attitude is exemplified by every one of the past recipients,
Gayle Jones and George Bragg, Paul Day, T.J. Lyons, Terry Young, Brian Clarke,
and the Mo-Kan Construction Industry Substance Abuse Fund. Each of these winners
has graciously shared the details of their winning ideas to
make improvements in the construction industry.
Has the concept worked? Here’s an update on T.J. Lyons who was the winner
of the Gary E. Bird Horizon Award in 2001. Mr. Lyon’s winning submission detailed his adaptation of the OSHA Voluntary Protection Plan (VPP) Accreditation
for use in the road construction industry by his employer, Rifenburg Construction,
Inc. Since the award, T.J. has twice spoken at the IRMI Construction Risk Conference,
once on the OSHA
VPP program and a second time on CCIPs
and Safety. He has also gone to work for a new employer, Turner Construction
Corporation, as a safety coordinator. And in that mode, he continues to exemplify
the spirit of the award.
In response to our request for candidates
for this year’s award, we received an e-mail from Mark Gammon, a safety manager
for Turner in Nevada. His email read:
- Please contact me about recommending my safety director. I have been
in the safety business nearly 25 years, and I have never met a person so
dedicated to the ideal of safety in the workplace. His name is T.J. Lyons,
and is the Safety Director for Northern California, and Northern Nevada.
Mr. Gammon’s e-mail put the spotlight on a past winner and serves to remind
us of the goal of this award, identifying and recognizing individuals who make
it their mission to improve the construction industry through their innovative
ideas and dedication.
The seventh Gary E. Bird Horizon Award will be presented in Las Vegas on
November 9, 2005, at the 25th
IRMI Construction Risk Conference. We will be accepting applications for the award through August 26, 2005. Details on how to apply or nominate someone
for the award can be found here. Should
you or someone you know have an innovative construction related concept or idea
that has proven to be effective, please consider sharing it with the rest of
the industry through this award.