WEDA’s Safety Excellence Award goes to Brennan and GEI

The Western Dredging Association has honored J.F. Brennan Company and GEI Consultants with a 2024 Safety Excellence Award for their work on the Third Ward Milwaukee River remediation project.

GEI and Brennan accepted the award at WEDA’s Annual Dredging Summit and Expo in Tampa, Florida.

WEDA’s Safety Excellence Award recognizes individual organizations or project teams for exceptional safety performance and for exhibiting a proactive approach to raising safety awareness in the dredging workplace.

The two firms removed approximately 45,000 cubic yards of impacted sediment from a 0.6-mile section of the Milwaukee River Estuary Area of Concern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The project involved several high-risk tasks, including sheet pile driving, diving, crane use, subaqueous debris removal, and sediment capping.

GEI and Brennan safely executed this work adjacent to active public boardwalks and while working in the Milwaukee River during peak waterway use season.

“Despite its complexity in an urban setting, the team’s strong safety culture resulted in a successful project, ensuring safety for all team members involved, as well as the public,” said Brennan Project Manager Nathan Wyrowski.

“Every project at GEI begins with a safety focus and mindset. That shows when you observe our teams and see their preparation,” said Steve Hawkins, GEI’s Safety Director. “This award affirms our safety approach to projects across the country, and I congratulate everyone on this team for the role they play in building our safety culture.”