Mid-States recognized as one of the safest companies in the nation

Mid-States Concrete Industries' plant has been formally awarded SHARP designation by the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program is awarded to only the safest companies in our nation.  The program recognizes small business employers who have used OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program services and operate an exemplary injury and illness prevention program.  Acceptance into SHARP is an achievement of status that singles Mid-States out as a model for work site safety and health.

The vision statement of Mid-States Concrete is: We are going to change the world by being the safest and most innovative precast building company.

“We are actually doing what our vision wants us to do,” said Mike Wolff, vice president of safety and operations.  “We are a (safety) model for our nation, through SHARP.”

Mid-States began its journey towards SHARP in 2010 after experiencing a major accident on site.  Since joining the On-site Consultation Program, Mid-States has undergone one-to-two OSHA audits annually.  It all started with learning the OSHA rules and training, training, training.  The company now has an employee safety committee, union safety officers and trainers that help with safety.  Now, the employees own it when it comes to safety.

“It truly has been a journey,” Wolff said.  “It wasn’t something that happened overnight… and the journey doesn’t end.”

Although Mid-States is certified for two years, Wolff still plans to invite OSHA in to conduct safety audits.  The company will need to continue to improve and implement safety programs to continue its SHARP designation.

While the plant is SHARP designated, Mid-States next step is getting its field installation SHARP certified.  From there, the company will be aiming for VPP (Voluntary Protection Programs) status, which recognizes employers and workers in the private industry and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries.

Since partnering with OSHA, OSHA recordable incidents have dropped by about 80 percent at Mid-States.  Plus, the company has seen a significant reduction in its workers compensation incidents.  According to Wolff, “having a safe workplace does pay.”

“We do it because we care about our employees,” Wolff said.  “We want them to go home in the same condition they arrived, every day.”

Mid-States joins only 34 other companies in Illinois to achieve such designation.   Additionally, only seven companies in Wisconsin and eight companies in Iowa have achieved SHARP designation.

Team member plays offense in area hockey league

Prior to July, Ian Lewellin hadn’t hit the ice in 22 years.

Lewellin, who has been with Mid-States since Feb. 2001 and is currently part of the preconstruction team, joined the Janesville Summer Hockey League after a bit of good-natured peer pressure.  He also sits on the board of Janesville Youth Hockey.

“It was awesome,” he said of getting out on the ice again.  “It was fun, but you realize quickly how out of shape you are, even if you think you are in shape.”

Lewellin mostly played offense, which is what he played in high school.  The toughest part, he said, was sucking wind, as he was out on the ice every two minutes.  Since the summer league was short – just eight games played in July and August – the team pretty much just showed up and played the games.  There was no practice schedule.

“It was good to get back out and play again,” Lewellin said.

Lewellin’s family was able to come out for a couple games, including his 11-year-old son Owin, who also plays hockey.  Usually, Lewellin will attend Owin’s games and provide some coaching from the stands.  With Lewellin on the ice, his son went ahead and took on that coaching role for him.  It was definitely interesting for him to experience that coaching from the other side.

Lewellin was the last one on his team to score a goal this season, but that score happened to come at exactly the right moment.  It was in the last two minutes of the team’s very last game that season, and it ended up winning the game.  He had such an amazing time, Lewellin signed on for the Janesville Winter Hockey League.  It includes 30 games from mid-October through April.

“I’m looking forward to getting in better hockey shape,” Lewellin laughed, though the season will make for some late nights.  Games are scheduled for 9:45 pm and 10:15 pm start times at the Janesville Ice Arena.

Interested in joining the Janesville Hockey League?  Ask Lewellin for more information.  Janesville Hockey is a co-ed league, open to anyone 18-years-old and older, and you’ll need to have your own gear.  Lewellin said he owes his wife, Jen, big thanks for hooking him up with all the gear he needed.  It was a gift for his big 4-0 birthday.

Hockey isn’t the only sport that has struck the fancy of Lewellin though.  While he loves hockey – he said it’s full of action and excitement – he is also passionate about baseball.  He grew up playing the sport and played until about five years ago.  He even pitched for Madison Area Technical College’s team, helping them win their second and third consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association baseball championships.

Lewellin has already come out of hockey retirement, maybe he’ll come out of baseball retirement next?

Mid-States works on tallest building yet

Rendering courtesy of Hirsch Associates.

Mid-States is a proud partner of Wicker Park Connection, 1640 W. Division St., in Chicago.

The 15-story tower will have hollowcore flooring for levels two through 15, plus a hollowcore roof, making 15 levels of hollowcore.  It is the tallest building Mid-States has ever worked on.  The project also features about 5,400 square feet of wall panels.

The tower will feature 140 residential units, 52 parking spaces and new retail space.  Mid-States will erect about 137,093-square-feet of 8" and 10" hollowcore slabs and size pieces of balcony slabs, as well as wall panels.  Wicker Park Connection will be the neighborhood's second tallest building.

Mid-States worked with Linn-Mathes Inc. General Contractors and Builders on this project.  Hirsch Associates is the architect of the building and Centrum Partners is the developer.

Thin brick with precast wall panels

Clay product-faced precast concrete gives architects the flexibility to combine the pleasing visual appearance of traditional clay products with the strength, versatility, and economy of precast concrete.  Among the types of materials that can be embedded in the precast is thin brick.  Thin brick can cover the entire exposed panel surface or only part of the concrete face, creating accents.

The brick appearance is created by using a brick form liner to hold the thin brick in place while the concrete is cast.  The embedded thin brick, once cleaned, will give the final appearance of a traditionally laid, full brick wall.

Mid-States has provided precast for many projects requiring thin brick, like Glenview Village Hall in Glenview, Illinois, pictured above.  This was an addition to the existing Glenview Police Department, so thin brick was used to match the existing building.

If you are interested in thin brick for your next project, contact us today.

Project Designer Kristen Heiser Down 50 Pounds

The Heiser household has lost more than 100 pounds since March.

Kristen Heiser, a project designer who has been with Mid-States since Jan. 2007, joined Weight Watchers on March 16, 2017.  Her husband, Jake, joined a few weeks earlier.  After watching her husband participate in Weight Watchers, Heiser said it just made sense for the two of them to do it together for meal planning, exercise, and support purposes.

Through Weight Watchers, the two have learned to make better choices about food, and the family – including the couple’s five-year-old son Kyle and Border Collie Mix Bella – now take a walk together every night before or after dinner.  Plus, Heiser walks about 1.2 miles on her lunch break every day.

“We spend more family time together now, going on walks,” Heiser said.

As of August 14, Heiser had lost 50 pounds and is down two clothing sizes.  Her husband is down 51 pounds.  The two wear Fitbits and compete with others in a step challenge.  They recently gave their son a Fitbit as an early birthday present because he wanted to compete, too.

Kyle has become curious about food choices as well, comparing two foods against each other, and asking his parents about the points associated with foods.  The couple try to teach Kyle about making better choices and balancing the good with the bad.

To change their food choices, the family has changed the way they look at food.  For example, when it comes to eating out, the value meals the family used to order had more points in one meal than they should have all day.  Clearly, they no longer eat out this way.

And where the family had previously relied on processed or prepackaged foods for meals, the Heisers have gotten pretty good at buying fresh and using seasonings to get the flavors they like.

Heiser has also tried to cut out sweets, but she loves to bake.  So, she allows herself one piece and then brings the rest to work, where she knows everyone else will enjoy it.  She has also cut her pop consumption and drinks mostly water now.  What Heiser loves is that she can have as many fruits and veggies as she wants and they are zero points but fill her up.

Heiser can see the weight loss in her face and feel it in her legs.  She also had to tighten the wristband of her Fitbit, though it had never really occurred to her that you could lose weight in your wrists.  And the health benefits have been great, too.  Heiser finds that she has more energy now.  She added that ever since she got pregnant with Kyle, she has experienced some sort of health issue.  Moving has helped with that.

“I want to be active with Kyle,” Heiser said.  “I don’t want to be the mom who sits on the sidelines.  I want to play with him.”

Although Heiser has made great progress, her goal is to lose another 40 to 70 pounds.  Where does this goal come from?  Well, if she loses another 40 pounds, she will be under 200 pounds.  If she loses another 70 pounds, it will put her close to her high school weight.

Heiser weighs herself every day and logs it into her Fitbit.  She weighs in weekly with the Weight Watchers app.  And Heiser has learned that if you have one bad day, you don’t give up.  Every day is a new day to get back on track and continue making better choices.  With that kind of attitude, Heiser is sure to meet her goal.

“Once I lose the weight, I plan to keep it off, not just go back to the ways things were, but maintain this new lifestyle,” Heiser said.