WEDA Dredging Summit & Expo Opens Nominations for Awards

The Western Dredging Association (WEDA) will host the 2019 Dredging Summit & Expo at the historic Chicago Hilton downtown on Michigan Avenue, June 4 to 7. During the 2019 Dredging Summit & Expo, WEDA will recognize individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievements. Nominations for 2019 Dredger of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards should be forwarded to Craig Vogt at Craig@craigvogt.com.

In addition, WEDA is accepting applications for the Environmental Excellence Awards until April 19 and the Safety Excellence Awards open until May 1. Award winners are asked to attend the Dredging Summit & Expo to participate on panels and receive the award in person.

Three Environmental Excellence Awards will be given in each of the following categories: Dredging for Navigation: to create or maintain navigation channels; Environmental Dredging: to create an environmental enhancement, i.e., remediation, wetland enhancement, restoration or creation, or any other dredging project whose primary objective is environmental in nature; and Mitigation or Adaptation to Climate Change: includes dredging or marine construction projects that exemplify and implement the WODA Statement on Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change.

More information on the Environmental Excellence Awards can be found here.

The Safety Excellence Awards recognize individual organizations or project teams whose exceptional safety performance exhibits a proactive approach to raising safety awareness in the dredging workplace. Awards will be presented for both Dredging Project and Dredging Contractor. Eligible applicants include dredging contractors, suppliers and manufacturers, government entities, consultants, academics, and any combination or subset, who are WEDA members, operate in the western hemisphere, have a total recordable injury rate of 2.0 or lower and have a downward trend in recordable incidents from 2016 to 2018.

The application for Safety Excellence Awards must include:

1. A narrative describing the contractor’s safety journey, its challenges and unique success strategies.
2. An overview of the company’s Safety Management System (SMS) and other noteworthy support processes.
3. Leading indicators of safety success (actions taken to ensure safe work) such as near miss/good catch rates, training records, safety STOP rates, records of safety contacts among company employees at all levels, or quality checks on Job Safety Analysis.
4. Total Recordable Injury and Lost Time Injury Rates for 2016-2018.
5. A closing reflection about what the contractor’s safety accomplishments offer WEDA colleagues, including 2 safety improvement strategies or tools to be shared during the conference Safety Panel.

Applications are due May 1 and must be submitted in PDF format to hgoffice@hilegroup.com. Questions should be directed to Julie Hile, WEDA Safety Commission Chair 309-888-4453

_{Source: dredgemag.com}