2023 Safety Professional of the Year Award

Philip Chodroff, Safety Director, was presented with the 2023 EMCOR Safety Professional of the Year Award. Each year, one safety professional working in an EMCOR company is given this award for demonstrating outstanding performance. Philip has worked tirelessly to involve every employee—whether they are a new apprentice or on the executive team—in our safety program. He constantly encourages employees across the organization to share concerns, ideas, and feedback. “Teammate” is one of Philip’s most important watchwords, and he has put significant effort into building personal relationships with peers and coworkers, in order to better engage them in safety processes.

Philip leads by example, consistently adhering to safety protocols and demonstrating the importance of prioritizing safety in all aspects of work, from the estimating process to project close out. His passion is contagious and inspires input and dialogue from field leaders. Philip also works closely with our leadership team and has built strong support at the top of the company.

Throughout his tenure as Safety Director, he has emphasized the importance of monthly Safety Committee meetings. It can be easy for project schedules and jobsite pressures to get in the way of meetings like these, but Philip is tenacious about holding them consistently. To help work around other priorities, committee meetings are held virtually, which allows all our field leaders to participate. They are also attended by CEO Harry Sassaman and General Superintendent Adam Ashton—a testament to our leadership’s strong, measurable commitment to safety.

Further, Philip actively seeks out support from EMCOR’s Safety, Quality, and Productivity (SQP) department, leveraging these additional resources to help advance our safety goals. He regularly consults SQP leadership, requesting their presence or advice, and includes an SQP segment in Safety Committee meetings. Most recently, he worked with SQP to execute a CNA fleet review.

Under Philip’s coaching and guidance, our team has developed a robust safety culture that fosters open communication and collaboration. His efforts have helped us record outstanding safety performance in 2023 and earn safety awards from leading industry organizations.