Top safety professionals know when it comes to communicating safety protocols and expectations for a given project, the message is essential. But getting that message to stick requires trust and rapport between all partners and project stakeholders.
Joshua Johnson, Corporate Safety Director of Rosendin Electric, says itās precisely the bond between the crew, the general contractor (GC), and the project owner that he spends a lot of time fosteringāespecially when heās out in the field.
āCommunication is huge,ā Johnson told Highwire ahead of Safety Week 2023.
āItās the most important thing we do, and yet itās the hardest thing we do.ā
Empathizing with crews in the field
Johnson started at Rosendin Electric in 2010 and now oversees the employee-owned electrical contractorās West Coast operations, including projects in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Hawaii.
Johnson knows safety culture is directly affected by how crews in the field feel about the work theyāre contracted to perform, including the working conditions they face, the relationships they form, and whether they feel like managers actively listen to their concerns.
āYouāre not going to know what they need and what a job demands from the office,ā Johnson said. āYouāve got to get out in the trenches. In Oregon, that means being in the mud; in California and Arizona, itās being out in the heat. But you donāt know whatās going on by staying in the trailer.ā
In other words, crews seek validation from those with whom they work. Johnson explains that fostering a sense of trust and support requires communicating a willingness to listen. And that burden falls on safety managers and supervisors, but also executives. āYouāve got to feel their pain,ā Johnson said.
āComing from a site safety manager and moving up through our hierarchy, I understand what our crews go through,ā Johnson said.
āIāve been on the ground, and Iāve completed the large projectsāIāve been there and seen what theyāre going through.ā
Johnsonās testimony speaks to the essence of this yearās Safety Week theme, āStrong Voices, Safe Choices,ā which focuses on empowerment, recognition, partnership, and impact.
Building trust and using feedback to take action
Johnsonās team hosts biweekly meetings with workers in the field to solicit their feedback about safety concerns. Those meetings grew out of the companyās Craft Empowerment Program, giving Johnson and his team valuable insight into problems, which they use to implement changes.
Those problems arenāt always linked to hazards or safety concerns. Sometimes itās about sprucing up a bathroom or break room; or, as Johnson recalled, getting another employee from an adjacent job site to respect traffic lawsāan incident that stands out years later to Johnson. Like clockwork, this red truck would drive erratically through the job site, causing strain on the employees.
āOne of my employees was passionate about that red truck,ā he said. āSo we dealt with it. We had the sheriff stand out there and took care of the issue. Itās not something on our project, but it affected how our crews arrived.ā
āIn many cases, the morale of our jobs is dictated by the issues our crews face,ā Johnson added.
The importance of data
Johnson said his work wouldnāt be complete without access to a system that offers comprehensive safety and risk assessments to inform his teamās management practices. Thatās where Highwire comes in.
āWhen I use Highwire, the first thing I pull up is the summary of findings report so I can see exactly what comments the crew input using Inspect and Tracker,ā he said.
Meet our Safety Leaders
- STEVE LARUSSA, EHS MANAGER ā GOOGLE
- GAVIN TAYLOR, CSP, DIRECTOR OF EHS ā LEE KENNEDY (COMING SOON)
- JOSHUA JOHNSON, CSP, CORPORATE SAFETY DIRECTOR ā ROSENDIN ELECTRIC
- DAVID WATTS, EHS DIRECTOR ā SKANSKA (COMING SOON)
- SAMUEL PEREZ, SMS, CHST, SAFETY PROFESSIONAL ā TORCON
- THE SAFETY TEAM ā W. L. FRENCH EXCAVATING CORPORATION
https://www.highwire.com/blog/rosendin-electric