The Kentucky Labor Cabinet Construction Partnership Program has entered into a site-based construction partnership agreement with Denark Construction and Eastern Kentucky University for the University’s New Science Building.

The agreement was signed at a brief ceremony at EKU’s Perkins Building on Tuesday, May 19.

The partnership program is housed in the Cabinet’s Division of Education and Training. The partnership is a voluntary cooperative agreement that allows quarterly consultative visits to the job site to provide extensive safety and health surveys and is available to all sub-contractors as well.

J.R. Gray, secretary of labor for the Commonwealth, said such partnerships “have a positive impact, reducing injuries and implementing great safety programs. Denark (the general contractor for EKU’s Science Building) has been named the best of the best in construction safety, and we look forward to a quality project, hopefully achieved without any serious injuries or deaths.”

EKU, home to a nationally recognized safety program, houses the only OSHA training institute in Kentucky and one of only 28 nationwide. Since its establishment in 2003, the Institute has prepared more than 3,500 outreach trainers.

“A safer work environment is a more productive work environment,” said Dr. Charles Hickox, EKU’s dean of Continuing Education and Outreach. “An agreement like this makes good business sense, and it speaks well of Denark to be willing to step up and do this.”

Robert Anderson, vice president of operations with Denark, said the partnership is also “a great opportunity for students in construction management to learn about construction and integrating what’s going to be their life’s work with safety.”

In January, EKU will launch an online, four-year degree program in occupational safety.