The Working Platforms
An update on progress and the work we still need to do
By Jason Moore, President, PDCA
There is no more unifying challenge among the
foundation and geotechnical construction industry
than the safety of our employees. Profit, product and
process sustainability included, there is nothing more important
than the safe return of our personnel to their families at the end
of each and every shift. Any request to accept something less than
that reality is immoral and, potentially, illegal.
Having spent the past five years in the pile driving industry, I
am convinced that inadequate working platforms are one of the
single greatest risks to our employees and assets. Every day, we
ask trained and qualified operators to assess the condition of the
site (a task for which they may not be qualified) and find a way
to operate safely while meeting the many demands of the general
contractor’s schedule and our budget. I fear that, too often, we
are setting them and ourselves up for failure. When the pressures
of the bid, contract negotiation, project schedule, overall project
cost and “the way it’s always been done” are provided as potential
roadblocks to our request for the safe working environment
98 | ISSUE 6 2020 www.piledrivers.org