Quanta Services Pilots Australian Suicide Prevention Model Across Six Field Units
According to Engineering News-Record, six subsidiaries of specialty contractor giant Quanta Services are now piloting an Australian suicide prevention program called MATES North America, built around peer-to-peer connections among field employees. For subcontractors managing distributed crews under high-stress conditions, the model represents a workforce wellbeing approach that could reshape industry expectations.
Program Background and How It Works
MATES in Construction originated in Australia and draws on peer relationships and training as its core approach. The program’s effectiveness attracted US attention first as the basis for mental health educational materials, and more recently earned an endorsement from the National Electrical Contractors Association, according to ENR.
Quanta approached MATES leaders in Australia in 2023 to begin adapting the model for North American workplaces. The pilot is designed to evaluate and refine the program for what the MATES North America website describes as “the fragmented North American construction and healthcare environment.” The stated goal is to “unite more employers, unions and safety orgs as partners in our cause.”
The six participating Quanta units are Blattner (Avon, Minn.), Hallen Construction (Plainview, N.Y.), Mears (Rosebush, Mich.), Potelco (Sumner, Wash.), Service Electric (Chattanooga, Tenn.), and Summit Line Construction (Heber City, Utah). All six are contributing financially alongside Quanta and other partners.
Project lead Katie Deal, based in Washington, D.C., told ENR she began by listening to workers in the field and engaging an advisory group of US industry leaders, unions, and mental health professionals. That input is being used to localize the program to reflect regional language and cultural norms.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Peer-to-peer mental health models are gaining traction in the construction and utility sectors. Subcontractors managing distributed crews in high-stress environments should watch this pilot closely, as it may set a new standard for workforce wellbeing programs.
- The pilot spans both union and non-union sites, which suggests the MATES model is being evaluated across the range of labor structures most subcontractors actually work within.
- Financial participation from the six Quanta units signals that program costs are shared across employer partners, which could make a similar model accessible to smaller subcontractors through industry coalitions or union partnerships.
- Localization is a core part of the rollout. Subcontractors operating across multiple regions should consider that a one-size-fits-all mental health program may not resonate with crews in different states or with different cultural norms, and that worker input at the field level is built into this approach from the start.
