September 24, 2021

Teammates on the Houston Waterworks Team’s (HWT)ikf Northeast Water Purification Plant (NEWPP) project are celebrating a safety milestone of surpassing over five million hours worked without a lost time accident since the project began in 2017.

NEWPP is the largest design-build drinking water treatment plant project in the world and one of the largest progressive design-build projects in the U.S., with more than 1,300 staff and craft workers on a 90-acre job site, making this milestone especially impressive for a project of this magnitude. 

As part of the Houston Waterworks Team – a joint venture between CDM Smith and Jacobs Engineering – Balfour Beatty is one of several contractors delivering work on the $1.8 billion project to expand the plant’s capacity. The plant will produce 320 million gallons per day (MGD) of high-quality drinking water to supply citizens of the greater Houston area for generations to come.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines a lost time accident or injury as one that causes an employee to miss work, which can impact team morale, and delay production and project delivery. 

In the past year alone, the project team has persevered through multiple challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, loss of power resulting from the Texas winter storms, record-breaking rain, and recent tropical storms. 

The project team credits its impressive safety record to creating a strong safety team that works diligently to ensure workers are well-protected, trained, and cared for so everyone makes it home safely every night to their families. 

“Our North Plant team is proud of this interim accomplishment and contribution to this NEWPP project safety milestone,” says Greg Frick, area operations manager for Balfour Beatty. “Each day, they pour their hearts and souls into building this project and making sure everyone is safe.” 

Congratulations to the NEWPP project team, staff, and partners for achieving this exceptional milestone and their commitment to maintaining a Zero Harm work environment.