Farmington Hills, Michigan…Architectural Contractors Trade Association (ACT) recently accepted the prestigious Arbor Award for excellence from The Arbor Consulting Group in recognition of ACT's innovative job safety program. Now in its fifth year, The Arbor Awards for Excellence is an annual competition that showcases best practices in human resources. The Arbor Consulting Group in conjunction with the Eastern Michigan Master of Science of Human Resource/Organizational Development Program sponsors the Arbor Awards for Excellence.

Architectural Contractors Trade Association, through funding from the Association's Industry Advancement Fund, produced a safety training video for construction workers designed to be used by the Associations member companies. Sixty construction workers from six Association member companies, not professional actors, were the "stars" of the video which was shot on site at the Great Lakes Crossing.

"We wanted to provide a safety orientation for employees that was consistent, informative and up to date", says Al Rackov, ACT's Safety Committee Chairperson. "The Association's insurance company did an analysis after one year of the using the video and found a reduction of 30% in injuries among new employees."

The Arbor Awards for excellence is given annually to recognize organizations who apply innovative programs and "best practices", as well as professional excellence in the advancement of effective human resources management within their organizations, stated Joan Moore, president of The Arbor Consulting Group.

"It was great to receive the Arbor Award. I think what impressed me most was our ability to win an award along side large companies like GM, Toyota, Borders, who all have large staffs with big budgets to complete their projects. Comparatively we used a committee that meets once a month, with a small budget to complete our award winning project," said Al Rackov.

Architectural Contractors Trade Association represents the wall and ceiling and resilient floor industry in southeastern Michigan. The video is available in both English and Spanish and is available for purchase through the Association by calling (248) 324-1998.