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How long have you been in the construction industry? 

I have been in the construction for roughly 27 years. I started out with a national drywall company and worked for them on Operations side for the first 12 years of my career. In 2010, I started making the transition from Operations to Safety and completed that transition in January 2013. I started with �黨��Ƶ in February 2018.

What are your primary responsibilities as part of the team?  

First, developing our Division Safety Managers and teams within each division is job #1. Second, �黨��Ƶ is fiercely committed to training our business partners the right way. I still participate in OSHA 30 classes for example and lead many other trainings at the regional level that have a direct impact on Operations and business continuity. Lastly, I invest as much time as possible within the construction communities by building relationships our trade partners, other prime contractors, and regulatory agencies.

How do you personally put safety into action each day?

I remind our people that the best way to achieve the results we want is to maintain strict discipline to planning process, that leads to our people having a safe work environment. It starts with doing what we say we will do, especially when it matters. Our industry is incredibly volatile: training and retaining talent, material procurement, and aggressive schedules can tempt us to cut corners or skip steps. Our teams and industry can be so fixated on “winning” that we circumvent the process. When time is a premium, the process matters most and the definition of “winning” needs to be clearly defined. A better mindset is to define ourselves by the way we do things. How you win matters, not just the results.

Please share how �黨��Ƶ’s proactive safety measures and planning have contributed to successful project outcomes. 

When we have invested the time on the front end to plan out our work, our teams build the job conceptionally before they ever stick a shovel in the ground. Those conversations and exercises allow us to have the forethought to anticipate the processes we need for successful outcomes, and ultimately the tools, training, and controls are baked into productive outcomes. When we collectively pre-plan, we see projects with much better outcomes. Quality, production levels, and engagement all increase when we adhere to the process and stick to the mitigation plan.

What safety innovation or improvement are you most proud to have contributed to at �黨��Ƶ? 

First, the Southeast division (before it became a region) was an early adopter of helmets, which provide greater protection than hardhats. Second, Greg Tate, River Blough, and I evaluated an innovative pre-planning process in 2023. We reviewed the critical steps, adhered to the plan, and held each other accountable.

Who has been an influential mentor in your safety career? 

Drew Gaskins is a close friend and has patiently helped me grow in the profession. I could talk for hours about his influence on me, but I’ll spare you.

How does being part of a 100% employee-owned company influence our safety culture? 

�黨��Ƶ does a great job of attracting talent who are value adds to our culture. People want to be part of an organization where anyone from CEO to a Laborer can have a positive impact on �黨��Ƶ’s direction through influence in the field. It’s hard not to like being part of that.

What message would you like to send out to your fellow employees during Safety Week?

Remember, safety is the result. Adherence to the process and self-alignment with the plan are required to get the results we want. Sometimes we miss the mark because the plan challenges us and requires growth. When we need to improve the plan, we should all feel empowered to hit the pause button, identify where we went wrong, make the necessary adjustment, and keep moving. That is simple to say but not always easy to do.