Doubled their business
Highwire empowers Russell to be intentional about risk management systems and processes, supporting them in enforcing their disciplined business mindset.
Managing Risk During Rapid Growth at H. J. Russell & Company
H. J. Russell & Company, a vertically integrated service provider specializing in construction, program management, and real estate development, needed a prequalification solution to manage its growing network of trade partners in geographically diverse markets. In 2021, the company partnered with Highwire to support ambitious growth plans while maintaining strong risk management practices.
Russell faced three significant challenges.
Manual Risk Management
With projects expanding into new geographies, Russell needed to move beyond manual, fragmented processes for prequalifying new subs. Obtaining information from trade partners was challenging, and contractors hesitated to share important safety and financial information.
Ambitious Growth Plans
The company aims to scale to $1B by 2029. To support this growth and expand geographically, it needed a scalable system to build contractor networks while ensuring safety and quality. Plans include targeting data center projects with top-tier safety standards.
Developing a Diverse Partner Network
Russell established an ambitious goal of spending 25% of subcontractor budgets with diverse trade partners. They required a solution that could identify and prequalify these contractors to maintain high safety and quality standards across all projects.
“Prequalification is about understanding who we’re working with and knowing how to support them. It’s about creating partnerships where we can identify risks early and work collaboratively to ensure project and contractor success.“
— Michael Swick, Senior Vice President, H. J. Russell & Company
The Highwire Solution
Prequalification
Highwire Prequalification provides financial and safety performance assessments to understand subcontractor risks, supporting risk mitigation and operational planning. Highwire's Assessment Team worked with subcontractors to collect and validate data.
Advanced Safety
Highwire Advanced Safety analyzes past safety performance and leading indicators to identify potential risks before work begins. This ensures teams align on hiring decisions, meet contractor management standards, and deliver successful projects.
Procore Integration
Highwire Procore Integration allows field teams to access safety metrics and contractor profiles on their tablets seamlessly. As a result, important risk management decisions made during preconstruction can be managed and monitored in the field.
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Results
Significantly reduced EMR
Highwire’s robust safety and risk management capabilities enabled Russell to reduce their EMR from 1.00 to 0.76, lowering insurance costs and improving overall project safety.
Workers' comp savings
Russell could prove to insurance companies that it has a robust, proactive risk management process resulting in $400,000 in annual premium savings.
Diverse partner spending
Nearly 28% of Russell's project spending flows to diverse trade partners, surpassing the company’s ambitious 25% goal.
- EMR reduction
- .24
- Insurance savings
- $400k
- Headcount avoided
- 4 FTEs
“With Highwire, we’re not just checking boxes on compliance; we’re equipping our field teams with actionable insights. This allows us to build stronger relationships with our trade partners and execute safer, more efficient projects.“
— Michael Swick, Senior Vice President, H. J. Russell & Company