The greatest EHS challenge for Gregory Havel, safety director at Scherrer Construction Co. Inc. in Burlington, Wisc., is what he perceives as the adversarial attitude of OSHA. "In this state, OSHA is strictly regulatory. If you call them with a consultative question - 'Should I do this?' - their best answer is 'maybe,'" says Havel, who responded to the 2008 National Safety Survey.

Havel says he's afraid of asking the agency to visit his job sites as part of the consultation program "because all the sudden, it turns into an inspection if they see something they don't like."

That said, Havel is proud of his company's record of 18 months without a lost-time incident. He attributes Scherrer's safety record in part to help from its insurance provider, which has an industrial hygienist and safety professional on staff to answer specific EHS-related questions, and to President and CEO Peter Scherrer, who designed the company's current safety program.

"He buys into it and the employees buy into it, although in the construction industry, there are still some workers who want to do things the way they've always done things," says Havel. The company has a strong safety committee that includes employees who are committed to creating and maintaining a safe work environment. Those employees are able to convince their coworkers that working safely is the best way to work, he adds.