Shawmut is marking its 15th annual Construction Safety Week by stressing the importance of year-round programming to prioritize employee wellness, removing the stigma of mental health issues, and the use of innovative AI technologies to improve job site safety.
Centered around Shawmut’s Safety Week mantra, “More than a mandate, a mindset,” the activities in Shawmut offices and job sites during the industry’s safety week include Narcan and First Aid training, mindfulness and meditation clinics, and candid conversations about ways to find help. The programs underscore Shawmut’s longstanding and industry-leading commitment to employees’ mental and physical wellbeing.
“The construction industry comes with inherent dangers and demands. While there is a special focus during Safety Week, we know it is critically important to prioritize wellness and mental and physical health throughout the whole year,” said Les Hiscoe, Shawmut’s chief executive officer. Hiscoe’s commitment to safety earned him 2023 CEOs Who “Get It” honors from the National Safety Council.
Over the course of Safety Week, May 6–10, more than 1,300 employees and thousands of trade partners will participate in events and training sessions, including at the active job sites of the New York Public Library Aguilar Branch, the Glorya Kaufman Creative Community Center at the Wende Museum in Los Angeles, and the renovation of the City of Boston’s municipal building at 26 Court Street.
Shawmut recognizes the industry’s suicide rate and opioid crisis demand an accelerated commitment to safety. To effect meaningful change, Shawmut’s employee-led Mental Health & Wellness Leadership Group works to identify programs, initiatives, and paths to address the mental health crisis in the industry; the firm’s leaders seek to model their own self-care, and have undergone training; and jobsites hold monthly discussions with trade partners about psychological safety and mental health to raise awareness around topics including empathy, substance use disorders, and suicide awareness. These efforts and more have earned the company numerous recognitions, including a 2023 Mental Health Visionary Award from the Construction Industry Alliance.
Since Shawmut’s inception, safety has been a core value that is embedded into its culture as a top-down and bottom-up business imperative. Shawmut is constantly piloting and implementing new technology to keep its safety program cutting-edge through its Technology Pilot Program. This allows for testing of different programs and platforms on a small scale, eliminating the penalty of failure—and enables informed decisions for larger-scale integration. This led to the integration of AI, which helps prevent incidents based on historical data—driving Shawmut closer to prediction and zero incidents. By identifying risk, Shawmut can pinpoint specific issues, take immediate action, and allocate resources—helping to address incidents before they arise.
“Embedding holistic health and innovative safety practices has made a positive impact, resulting in healthier employees and nearly 50% decrease in lost workday incidents since 2019,” said Shaun Carvalho, Chief Safety Officer. “As a 100% employee-owned company, we are dedicated to building buy-in and engagement from every member of our team through Safety Week and the countless wellness programs we hold throughout the year.”
