Chief executives from leading construction companies—Bechtel, Fluor, Turner Construction Company, North America’s Building Trades Unions, Kiewit, Clark Construction, DPR Construction, Skanska, and Stanley Black & Decker, including its DEWALT® brand—have come together as founding members of a new CEO Advisory Council. This council will spearhead efforts aimed at addressing the high suicide rates within the construction industry by developing targeted mental health solutions.

The initiative, originally launched by Bechtel, is bolstered by the largest financial pledge ever made to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The primary goal is to create industry-specific mental health programs to reach half a million U.S. construction workers over the next five years. This effort is led by AFSP’s newly established Construction Initiatives team, aiming to increase awareness and provide vital resources for suicide prevention in the sector. For further details, the official press release provides in-depth information on this collaboration.

The formation of the CEO Advisory Council underscores a collective commitment to uniting the industry in addressing mental health challenges.

“Suicide prevention and mental health are issues that touch everyone in the construction industry,” said Brendan Bechtel, Bechtel chairman and CEO. “Just like with worksite safety, nothing is proprietary when it comes to saving lives. My fellow industry leaders share this belief, and by joining this council, they’ve shown that they are committed to working together to find solutions. I’m deeply grateful for their participation as founding partners. The more we can engage a broad group of leaders and collaborate on solutions, the more effective we will be in providing our people the support they need. We owe it to them, to our colleagues, and to their families to find solutions and prevent these tragedies.”

“It’s powerful to see these top leaders across the construction community coming together to support this unique suicide prevention initiative,” said Robert Gebbia, AFSP CEO. “Their involvement sends a clear message that the industry is committed to finding solutions and making a difference in the lives of its workers. The council members’ insights will be invaluable to our team at AFSP as we develop the programs and resources to make this effort successful. We look forward to their collaboration.”

The founding members of the council include:

• Don Allan Jr., President and CEO, Stanley Black & Decker: “Since 1924, DEWALT has been committed to supporting professional tradespeople through innovation, safety, and productivity. Our DEWALT Grow the Trades program continues this mission with a $30 million commitment to initiatives, including mental health programs for skilled workers.”
• Brendan Bechtel, Chairman and CEO, Bechtel: “Bechtel’s mental health initiatives, like Mental Health First Aid training and Mental Health Action Plans, aim to create real cultural change, extending to our global workforce. Recently, nearly 15,000 employees took part in a stand-down as part of Construction Suicide Prevention Week.”
• David Constable, Chairman and CEO, Fluor: “Fluor’s global project sites actively participate in STAND Up for Suicide Prevention Week. Our leaders undergo specialized training, including QPR Gatekeeper Training, to recognize warning signs and intervene in mental health crises.”
• Peter Davoren, Chairman, President, and CEO, Turner Construction: “Turner promotes mental health awareness to more than 100,000 workers on our project sites and provides our teams with training to recognize and respond to potential mental health issues.”
• Richard Kennedy, President and CEO, Skanska USA: “Skanska has long integrated mental health and safety initiatives, with programs like our Mental Health First Aid Green Sticker Program providing training to support workers and foster a culture of care.”
• Rick Lanoha, President and CEO, Kiewit: “Our Under the Hat™ program and strategic mental health partnerships support the wellbeing of over 31,000 employees across North America.”
• Sean McGarvey, President, North America’s Building Trades Unions: “NABTU, through our RESPECT initiative, collaborates with contractors, owners, and mental health professionals to create programs addressing mental health and suicide prevention.”
• Robert D. Moser Jr., CEO, Clark Construction: “Clark engages in industry-wide mental health initiatives, including AGC’s Suicide Prevention Task Force, and promotes training like Mental Health First Aid.”
• George Pfeffer, CEO, DPR Construction: “DPR’s mental health resources include specialized workshops, a Mental Health Employee Resource Group, and confidential counseling services available to employees.”

The council will meet quarterly to review existing mental health programs, identify gaps, and develop new initiatives to better support construction workers across the industry. These efforts will focus on improving mental health training, increasing awareness, and enhancing access to support resources.

About Bechtel

Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our customers’ objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.  

Bechtel serves the Energy; Infrastructure; Manufacturing & Technology; Mining & Metals; and Nuclear, Security & Environmental markets. Our services span from initial planning and investment, through start-up and operations. www.bechtel.com