Soaring Heights Communities focuses on safety Published Oct. 1, 2008 By Soaring Heights DAVIS MONTHAN AFB, Ariz. -- Since construction for Soaring Heights Communities (SHC) commenced more than one year ago, residents of Davis-Monthan and Holloman Air Force Bases have started seeing the vision of new homes and communities become a reality. With ongoing construction in both communities, SHC and developer Actus Lend Lease have taken safety to a new level, implementing safety practices above and beyond the local building and industry standards. SHC and Actus Lend Lease are committed to living an Incident and Injury Free (IIF) way of life. Their best practice techniques go above and beyond typical building standards and can be measured through a variety of ways, including, their pledge of using 100% fall protection. Actus has made it mandatory that all employees working at a height greater than six feet must be protected from falls. This is achieved with passive fall protection systems such as handrails, guardrails and scaffolds where possible. When one of these systems cannot be used, employees must use personal fall arrest systems. Permanent roof anchors are being installed on the roofs of all new homes as well. This permanent fall protection is installed to provide protection for all employees who access the roof, including those who must access it for inspections and maintenance. Each SHC employee is also required to attend a site-specific safety orientation class before beginning work and all project sites have a full time Safety Manager. That Safety Manager oversees all safety initiatives and also conducts regular 'Hazard Recognition Walks' that help identify any hazards needing to be corrected. Ryan Kleinau, SHC Project Director states, "Safety cannot be compromised. We hold every employee accountable and strive to give them the knowledge they need to remain safe both at work and home. We take these extra steps and go beyond what is required of us because it is the right thing to do." "As a measure of our level of safety, Actus partners with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) in Arizona and New Mexico," said Allen Tandy, Senior Construction Manager for Actus Lend Lease. "Holloman has just completed their transitional status under the consultation program and was awarded 'Superior Status' and SHC at Davis-Monthan just finished their one year of required consultation visits and was awarded a two-year partnership," said Tandy. Additional safety initiatives implemented by SHC and Actus Lend Lease include: protective eyewear for all individuals who enter a construction site, high visibility shirts or vests for all employees, heat relief stations in various locations equipped with misting machines that provide shade and relief from the sun, and First Aid, CPR and AED training to all Actus site employees. About Soaring Heights Communities Soaring Heights Communities is a 50-year partnership created between the Department of the Air Force and Actus Lend Lease through the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI). Development commenced at Soaring Heights in 2007 with completion by 2013. Excelling at large, complex development projects, Actus Lend Lease works with institutional owners to create value and deliver exceptional returns. With more than 40,000 homes in its portfolio, Actus Land Lease has created and built sustainable, integrated communities on some of the nation's largest military bases. Among these are: Army Hawaii, Oahu, Hawaii; Parris Island, South Carolina; Fort Hood, Texas; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Hickam Air Force Base, Oahu, Hawaii and Fort Drum, New York. Actus, part of Lend Lease Retail and Communities, is a subsidiary of the Lend Lease global family, which includes Bovis and Delfin Lend Lease. Actus Lend Lease is headquartered in Nashville, TN. Actus Lend Lease employs more than 700 people nationwide.