Case Study: Achen-Gardner achieves 1 million man-hours without lost-time incidents with HCSS Safety

Achen-Gardner Reaches Major Safety Milestone

Achen‑Gardner, an Arizona construction firm of roughly 140 employees, struggled with a high lost‑time accident rate and inconsistent safety practices when Safety Manager Cesar Martinez took over. Workers didn’t know the company’s safety program, incidents weren’t properly managed, and a high EMR threatened the firm’s ability to bid work — all signs that a deeper culture change was needed.

Martinez rewrote the safety program using input from field crews, launched a return‑to‑work plan, retrained staff at every level, and secured ownership buy‑in while implementing daily JHAs, toolbox talks, inspections and the HCSS Safety mobile app to track incidents, training and trends. Those efforts paid off: Achen‑Gardner achieved one million man‑hours without a lost‑time incident over about three years, recorded a full year with no recordable accidents, reduced incident rates, and established a sustained safety culture with ongoing “Target Zero” initiatives.

Achen-Gardner

Cesar Martinez

Safety Manager