How a new building furthered our commitment to health and safety


A two-year renovation will improve how we do business

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Earlier this month, SAIF officially cut the ribbon on our newly renovated building in downtown Salem.

As Oregon’s not-for-profit workers’ comp insurance company, SAIF has been headquartered in Salem since 1914. During that time, we’ve declared it our mission to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work. Our new building reflects those values.  


Collab space


Doing the hard things well
This new building is an example of how SAIF is willing to take on large, challenging projects, and get them done. The renovation finished ahead of schedule and on budget.

More importantly, our service levels remained high during the renovation. We have the highest customer service levels in Oregon, with quicker decisions on claims, checks out to injured workers faster, and workers getting back to work more quickly.


Visitor entrance


Safety
We are a workers’ comp company after all, so safety was very important for us on this build. Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in Oregon—a point we stressed with our general contractor, Lease Crutcher Lewis.

Lease Crutcher Lewis took safety very seriously. Because of the safety measures we partnered with them on, there were no time-loss injuries during construction. We are very proud of this fact because it’s uncommon for a project this size.

Here are just a few of the many steps they took to ensure safety on the build, which any company could implement:

  • Everyone on site was given “stop work authority”—meaning they could halt production if they saw a safety risk or had a concern.
  • Every morning all site personnel had a meeting that included: a body stretch and flex session, a safety talk where any concerns were shared, a daily foreman task outline, and a discussion on what was seen during daily safety walkthroughs
  • They created safety incentives for those whose commitment to safety stood out

No one, including vendors, visitors, SAIF staff and executives—even the SAIF board of directors—was allowed to set foot on the job site without an extensive safety briefing


Work space


A new building is exciting, but, at the end of the day, the best thing about our new headquarters is the employees that show up every day to serve Oregon workers and businesses. Our employees at SAIF look forward to working with you—reach out at www.saif.com.