La Crosse, WI — Great Place to Work® and Fortune have honored J.F. Brennan Company, Inc. (Brennan) as one of the Best Workplaces in Construction™. This is Brennan’s first time being named to this prestigious list, coming in at 14^th place among small and mid-size companies. Earning a spot means that Brennan is one of the best companies to work for in the country.

The Best Workplaces in Construction award is based on the analysis of survey responses from over 25,000 employees from Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies in the construction industry. In that survey, 88% of Brennan’s employees said the company is a great place to work. This number is 31 points higher than the average U.S. company.

Originally announced by the Western Dredging Association (WEDA).

In recognition of his extensive and outstanding contributions to the dredging community and to the Western Dredging Association, Andrew A. Timmis has been named the 2022 Dredger of the Year at the WEDA Summit & Expo held in Houston, Texas. 

Working for many years on the frontlines of environmental dredging, when Mr. Timmis joined WEDA in 2004, he became a member of its Environmental Commission. He helped develop policy for the group and pointed out the need to provide a program for regulators to learn about environmental issues.

Safety starts with putting people first.

It’s not just about checklists, inspections, and meetings, said Steve Skau, vice president of safety and compliance for J.F. Brennan Company. It’s also about everyone on a job having the ability to give feedback and know it will be valued.

“Everything we do at Brennan starts with safety, no matter what scope of work we’re doing,” Skau said. 

In industries like marine construction, the penalty for skipping or rushing through “simple” industrial rigging inspections or “ordinary” storage practices can be catastrophic for all of our equipment and tools, but most importantly for the people involved. 

For example, Brennan uses endless and synthetic slings (straps or tie downs) to hoist and secure all kinds of materials: from piping and equipment, to dredges and other vessels. Reliable slings are critical to the work we do. We must ensure they are in excellent working condition before we use them and maintain them for our teammates who must safely use them next. Here are a few important questions we answer from curious customers and our own people.

As a marine solutions company, J.F. Brennan Company, Inc. (Brennan) faces a unique array of regulations and rules. While every company deals with regulations, most deal with rules that impact operations only on land or only in the water. We are accountable for regulatory requirements in both areas and have been for years. So, what's changed and what are we doing about it? 

Dive teams mobilize every day to complete a broad assortment of tasks utilizing 3‑person dive teams. Historically, this has been the standard not only within Brennan's practices but for most other inland diving organizations. The Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) gives guidance that requires, at a minimum, a 3‑person dive team. While this practice is sufficient in some circumstances; such as non-penetration inspections and wheel jobs (propeller repairs); with our growing scope of work it became apparent that a 4‑person dive crew—adding a standby diver—should be our internal minimum standard moving forward.

By Michael Cannell—Quality and Safety Manager

As construction projects pick up speed across the country, so do construction- and safety-related news stories. It’s important to ask: What is J.F. Brennan Company, Inc. (Brennan) doing to ensure the safety of our team? And, can we increase safety measures without sacrificing productivity?

Our team has withstood the most unpredictable winters in recent memory. As we finally head into warmer weather, we reflect on all we were able to accomplish under the ice this past season. The ice may have been thick - really thick - four to five feet thick. But that didn’t stop us from taking on the most demanding under-ice dive projects.

There is nothing more important on a job site than safety. To prevent an injury, one must recognize the potential risk and take mitigative action beforehand. The challenge that companies like us face is not so much trying to figure out how an incident happened, but training employees to recognize the potential of injury before it happens. Once that mindset has been ingrained, team members must be empowered to address and escalate it without repercussion.