Customer spotlight BL Harbert: Reaching new heights with exceptional safety performance

Customer spotlight BL Harbert: Reaching new heights with exceptional safety performance

B.L. Harbert International (BLHI), a world-class general contractor based in Birmingham, AL, has evolved into a recognized industry leader through exceptional leadership, steadfast commitment to customers and a safety-every day-every task-everywhere mindset. With projects spanning federal, commercial, and industrial sectors both in the U.S. and internationally, Harbert is consistently ranked among the top federal contractors in the nation.

BLHI’s journey to exceptional was largely driven by their focus on establishing a strong safety culture and mindset. This transformation was achieved with the support of Zurich Risk Engineering.

About BLHI

  • 28 million direct-hire man hours in 2024
  • 11,000+ direct-hire employees
  • Consistently ranked in the top federal contractors by volume, lead contractor for new embassy and consulate construction
  • Recognized by Environmental Health and Safety Magazine and other top industry associations as one of America’s safest contractors
  • Recognized by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) as 2025 Safest in the Industry for outstanding achievements in safety, quality, merit, and project excellence. Also, a 2025 recipient of the Association of General Contractors (AGC) National AGC Safety Award.
  • Federal projects span work for Army Corps of Engineers, Navy, Marines, FBI, NSA, and the U.S. State Department
  • Commercial projects include sports arenas, hospitality and convention centers, and large resort hotels
  • Industrial operations cater to heavy industrial, oil and gas, and power generation sectors, as well as automobile and manufacturing plants for high-profile global brands

The journey to safety excellence

For general contractors pursuing heavy commercial, industrial or federal construction projects, safety is a pre-qualifier. Clients with projects from power generation and oil and gas to heavy manufacturing place heavy scrutiny on a contractor’s safety performance prior to accepting a bid. Strong safety performance may not guarantee winning a job, but it is essential to be eligible for consideration.

For BLHI, elevating the company’s safety performance was a critical component of its proposition for federal government and heavy industrial clients. Over a 10-year span, the company made strategic moves to strengthen its safety culture and brought in Zurich Resilience Solutions’ (ZRS) risk engineering to help. Through disciplined safety protocols and adoption of its safety-every day, every task, everywhere-mindset, BLHI became a recognized industry leader, ranking among the top federal contractors in the nation.

In the mid-2000s, BLHI set a strategic goal to position the company to compete in high-bar federal and industrial markets where safety is a crucial pre-qualification metric.

To assess the company’s safety performance and culture, BLHI engaged Zurich Resilience Solutions to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the organization’s safety practices – including a broad analysis of injury data, claim reviews, incident reports, and safety training programs. ZRS connected BLHI with other general contractors to glean insights on safety practices in their organizations. With aggregated trend data, ZRS helped BLHI build a long-term safety strategy tailored to their specific risks, projects, financial and growth goals.

Highlighted ZRS services implemented at Harbert

“X-Ray” Program

  • Comprehensive organizational safety assessment
  • Deep-dive into all aspects of the organization through interviews with leaders, foremen, and team members on the jobsite
  • Helped realign and strengthen safety culture from top to bottom

Site visits & safety assessments

  • Pre-construction planning and site-assessments through project completion
  • Offered insights and guidance for targeted actions and improvements
  • Included sensitive and high-profile government and commercial projects

Safety training programs

  • Fleet Safety & Defensive Driving
  • Safety Leadership & Accountability
  • Mental Health & Stress Management
  • Subcontractor Risk Selection
  • Emergency Action Planning

Key actions taken to build Harbert’s safety-always culture

BLHI was one of the first customers to leverage ZRS’ X-RAY program - a comprehensive organizational safety assessment evaluating all aspects of the company’s safety practices. Interviews across the organization, including with leadership, management, foremen, and crew members on the jobsite offer a full view of practices and outcomes. The analysis resulted in identification of areas of vulnerability, realignment of safety protocols, introduction of onboarding programs for new hires, and implementation of safety practices across all phases of a project.

Pre-construction planning and site-assessments were conducted through project completion, offering insights and guidance, targeted actions and improvements in all phases of projects.

Safety Training played an important role in elevating skill and knowledge across a broad range of safety functions. Training included: Safety Leadership & Accountability, Fleet Safety & Defensive Driving, Mental Health & Stress Management, Subcontractor Risk Selection and Emergency Action Planning

The Results:

Over the course of a decade, BLHI saw a significant reduction in loss metrics and a significant increase in project growth.

  • Experience Modification Rate (EMR) dropped from 0.98 to 0.44
  • Over 95% reduction in claim frequency and severity over 10 years
  • Significant growth in project volume, nearly double in the U.S. over a 10-year period, driven by safety performance

Safety’s role in supporting financial and growth goals

As part of the safety review and strategic alignment work, ZRS helped translate safety data into ROI-focused conversations with Harbert’s executive team, demonstrating how investment in safety yields measurable financial results, including lower claim costs, higher bid acceptance, and better margins.

Showing company leaders historical and current costs of accidents and injuries, demonstrates the effectiveness of safety programs in financial terms. It is critical that safety professionals convey how safety practices support financial goals and strategic decision-making.

Becoming a safety leader other industry players aspire to

Having built a proven safety model, Harbert is now a resource for others in the industry. Contractors across the country look to BLHI for insights and guidance, marking a full-circle moment in their journey.

BLHI is a powerful example of what’s possible when organizations commit to a culture of safety.