Skanska chooses healthy option for Pfizer project.

Skanska USA Building Inc. has formed a strategic partnership with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) for the Pfizer facility in Morns Plains, New Jersey.

Skanska, along with OSHA's Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health (OSPP), entered into an extended, voluntary, cooperative relationship to achieve an optimum level of worker safety and health at the job site.

The program is being developed to respire New Jersey-area construction contractors to continually improve their safety and health performance.

"The Strategic Partnership with OSHA, Pfizer and the Building Trades is a great opportunity for all of us to work together for the common goal of ensuring that all workers go home safely at the end of the day," said Skanska's environmental, health and safety director David Korman.

"This partnership sets safety and health as a high priority," said Philip M.Peist, area director of OSHA's Parsippany office. "It represents a commitment by all the parties to provide workers with a safe and healthy work environment."

Skanska is the construction manager for Pfizer's Building 115. The project will include a 490,000-square-foot office/administrative facility plus a five-level parking deck with approximately 1,200 spaces.

Pfizer Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets leading prescription medicines for humans and animals and many of the world's best-known consumer brands.

In 2003, the company announced plans to invest approximately $400 million to expand its diverse operations in the state of New Jersey, including a combination of renovation and new construction at Pfizer's Morris Plains site. This site serves as the world headquarters for Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and is also home to many corporate functions.