The Daily Dig
On May 13, the Associated Builders and Contractors took its safety case to Capitol Hill. Patrick Sughrue, senior corporate director of health, safety and environmental at Cianbro Corp in Pittsfield, Maine, testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on behalf of ABC. The hearing was titled "Building a Safer Future: Private-Sector Strategies for Emerging Safety Issues."
Sughrue's testimony centered on a clear finding from ABC's 2026 Health and Safety Performance Report: private-sector safety systems, including the use of leading indicators, are already helping contractors identify hazards, reduce risk, and improve outcomes before incidents occur. Top-performing members in ABC's STEP Health and Safety Management System achieved incident rates 686% safer than the BLS construction industry average and reduced total recordable incident rates by 85%.
The testimony took direct aim at TRIR as a primary safety benchmark. Sughrue told the subcommittee that relying on it is increasingly ineffective and counterproductive because it only captures what went wrong after someone got hurt. Leading indicators work differently. They measure the inputs and processes that prevent injuries before they occur, assess how well a safety system is functioning in real time, and tell leaders where risk exists and who needs support before anyone is hurt.
Sughrue also pushed back on the idea that enforcement alone builds a safety culture. He called on OSHA to expand its emphasis on compliance assistance, cooperative programs, and education alongside its enforcement role. Cianbro's own approach centers on committed leadership, clear communication, worker involvement, and a culture of trust.
Snapshot:
Event: Congressional testimony, House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
Hearing Title: Building a Safer Future: Private-Sector Strategies for Emerging Safety Issues
Date: May 13, 2026
Testifying Organization: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)
Witness: Patrick Sughrue, Senior Corporate Director, Health, Safety and Environmental, Cianbro Corp.
Company Location: Pittsfield, Maine
Key Report: ABC 2026 Health and Safety Performance Report
Program Referenced: ABC STEP Health and Safety Management System
STEP Program Age: Established 37 years ago
STEP Cost: No cost to participants
Top STEP Member Performance: Incident rates 686% safer than BLS construction industry average
TRIR Reduction: 85% below national average
Policy Ask: OSHA to expand compliance assistance, cooperative programs, and education alongside enforcement
TheJobWalk Thoughts
That 686% gap is not a rounding error. It is the measurable distance between contractors running structured, accountable safety programs and the rest of the industry. STEP has been around for 37 years and costs nothing to join. If your company is not using a system like it to benchmark where your risk actually sits, that is a business problem as much as a safety one.
The argument against TRIR as the primary safety measure is worth paying attention to. It is a lagging indicator by design, and Sughrue made the case directly to Congress that it tells you what already went wrong, not what is about to. For GCs and subs who want to get ahead of where safety evaluation is heading, building out leading indicator tracking now is the move. The data to support it is already there.
Courtesy of ABC: Patrick Sughrue
