Heavy Highway Construction Safety Partnership (HHCSP)
The Associated Contractors of New Mexico (ACNM) and the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Administration (NM OSHA) bureau, mutually recognize the importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment for New Mexico’s heavy highway construction workforce. The HHCSP was established in 2008 to encourage, acknowledge, and assist New Mexico’s heavy highway construction industry in their efforts to ensure a safe and healthful workplace for employees engaged in the construction of our highways.
This initiative represents a welcome agreement and affords a partnership for voluntary compliance alternatives to the traditional NM OSHA enforcement activities. NM OSHA and ACNM believe that maintaining a focus on safety will save lives, time, and dollars. The intended outcome of this focus is a reduction of employee injuries, illnesses, deaths, equipment damage, workers’ compensation, insurance costs, downtime, and monetary penalties. However, the overall goal of this partnership is the protection of life, limb, and property.
- To reduce annually the severity and frequency rate of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities affecting participating employers.
- To increase the number of heavy highway contractors who implement effective safety and health programs, including safety and health-focuses training for employees, supervisors, and management.
- To recognize that contractors with exemplary safety and health programs and site-specific safety and health plans.
- To decrease accident and regulatory penalty costs to participants.
- To improve the image of, and to increase the public’s trust in New Mexico’s heavy highway construction industry.
The ACNM HHCSP offers industry and NM OSHA the opportunity to work together towards a common goal; to ensure the safe and healthful workplace for employees engaged in the construction of New Mexico highways.
Most notable, the HHCSP increases the chance for success through mentoring relationships between partnership participants. Ordinarily strong competitors, participating companies come together with time, attention, and resources to help each other raise the level of safety on their works sites. Through sharing of information and solving problems, the construction industry and its workers benefit.
As a whole, our participants have shown a consistent decline in injuries and illnesses, and rank below the Bureau of Labor Statistics national average for Days Away, Restricted, Transferred (DART) by NAICS for the industry.
This multi-platform partnership consists of three levels:
- Silver – Entry Level
- Gold – Transitional Level
- Platinum – Superior Level
The first step is to submit an application packet to ACNM. Next, the verification committee will review the application packet for determination of platform level. Once the verification committee has completed the application review process, an on-site visit is conducted. Upon successful completion of the verification process, a company is eligible for the partnership benefits for their qualifying platform level.
For More Information About the Partnership:
Carol Walker
(505) 301-1428
cwalker@aconm.org