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A regional commercial general contractor needed a dedicated safety professional for a complex healthcare project adjacent to an active hospital. CSM embedded a Contract Safety Director from pre-construction through closeout.
Meridian Builders Group is a regional general contractor specializing in commercial and institutional construction. When they were awarded a $48M healthcare campus expansion, the project owner required a dedicated, full-time safety professional on site. Meridian did not have one on staff — and the project was too complex and too visible to manage safety as a secondary responsibility.
The healthcare campus expansion involved structural steel erection, mechanical system installations, and exterior envelope work — all taking place immediately adjacent to an occupied hospital with active patient care areas. The project owner mandated a full-time, dedicated safety professional as a contractual requirement.
Meridian faced a common dilemma: hiring a full-time EHS manager meant a six-figure salary, benefits, and months of recruiting in a market where experienced safety professionals are scarce. And this was not a role where they could afford to hire the wrong person. The project involved coordinating safety across eight subcontractor trades, managing occupied building adjacency protocols, and maintaining OSHA compliance throughout fourteen months of active construction.
Beyond the contractual requirement, Meridian knew their safety performance on this project would directly influence whether they won future work from this owner — a health system with a multi-year capital improvement plan.
CSM deployed a Contract Safety Director with healthcare construction experience who integrated with the project team before mobilization. This was not oversight from the outside — it was safety leadership from the inside.
Before a single shovel hit the ground, CSM developed a comprehensive site-specific safety plan that addressed the unique challenges of working adjacent to an active hospital. This included patient safety protocols, infection control considerations for construction zones, and emergency response coordination with hospital administration.
CSM implemented a rigorous subcontractor prequalification process requiring documented safety programs, EMR verification, training records, and site-specific orientations for every crew entering the project. Subcontractors that did not meet standards were not permitted to begin work until deficiencies were corrected.
Our Contract Safety Director conducted daily site inspections, led morning safety briefings in English and Spanish, reviewed and approved JSAs for every critical task, and maintained real-time documentation of conditions across all active work zones. This was not paperwork for the sake of paperwork — it was active hazard management.
CSM maintained continuous OSHA inspection readiness throughout the project. When two unannounced OSHA inspections occurred, the project received zero citations on both occasions — a direct reflection of the daily compliance discipline enforced from day one.
Meridian was awarded a follow-on $32M medical office building project before the original engagement concluded — and they retained CSM for the new project as well. A strong safety record does not just protect workers. It wins work.
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