WASHINGTON — The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and the Construction unit of CNA, a commercial insurance writer and property and casualty company, announced their new strategic partnership focused on advancing industry best practices in the field of construction safety.

During this three-year partnership, scheduled to launch in January 2012, CNA will provide ABC chapters and members with access to its vast library of safety resources, provide subject matter experts to ABC committees, and enhance the value of ABC’s Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP). In addition, CNA will be the sponsor of the annual National Safety Excellence Awards and the safety management track at ABC’s EdCon & Expo, both scheduled for April 2012.

“This important new strategic partnership with CNA will enhance ABC’s long-term safety vision, working toward reaching our goal of sending everyone home safely from our jobsites each night,” said Mike Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. “CNA’s innovative resources will give ABC members the tools to strengthen their safety training and incident prevention programs, while recognizing outstanding safety performance. We are pleased to have CNA working with us in this critical area.”