UAPA: Why is a safety culture important to your company? What motivates your safety leadership team? Troy: Every organization has a culture; some just support safety more than others. Culture is the foundation that will interweave safety into not just what we do but who we are. Our team’s motivation comes from the belief that the company and every associate have a moral obligation to do everything possible to ensure each person returns home safely every day. UAPA: How does senior management demonstrate their commitment to safety and employees? Troy: The safety of Wheeler Associates, customers, and business partners is always the first consideration in all aspects of our business. In addition, providing the necessary resources that enable that to happen. UAPA: How does your safety program/culture empower your employees? Troy: All employees have the right and obligation to stop work if something is not safe. Employees along with their supervisors conduct weekly safety walks and catch people doing the right things. Weekly, employees gather around a continuous improvement board and address safety and other process improvement ideas. UAPA: What is the best avenue for other subcontractors to start building a safety culture? Troy: Begin with senior/executive level leadership, you need their buy in. There are four main reasons to care about safety: 1. It’s morally and ethically the right thing to do. 2. Legal reasons. 3. Financial reasons. 4. Career advancement, leaders and employees who are not safe will not advance or stay in leadership. UAPA: What overall statement would you like the UAPA community to know about your company’s safety culture? Especially the Utah subcontractor community? Troy: Wheeler Machinery Company holds safety not as a priority, for they can change, but an unshakable value. Culture is what will allow safety to either flourish or flounder. For an organization’s safety culture to evolve, leaders must change their company norms by setting clear expectations around activities that individuals have control over. You must manage the presence of safety and not the absence of injuries. 13
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