afety stands as a moral imperative and duty to the workforce, as well as economic necessity, shaping reputations and impacting project and service results. Successful businesses keep safety at the core of all they do, committing to a suite of values and behaviors that enhance and reinforce safety at every turn—from the safety of their people to protecting valuable assets and the invaluable Alaska environment.

“Safety is our top priority,” says Robyn DiLorenzo, corporate safety director at Watterson Construction, one of the largest Alaskan owned and operated construction contractors in the state. “We don’t balance safety against any other consideration. If we can’t do something safely, we don’t do it. Budgets and schedules are built around safety. Our experience is that planning and completing a project safely produces better job cost.”

Watterson and other Top 49ers have learned how investing in safety ultimately improves the bottom line on all fronts.

“Ask 100 people what safety culture is and they may not be able to articulate an answer, but they sure will know when a safety culture is missing,” says Marty Freeman, senior manager of safety, environment, and security at Chugach Electric Association.

Chugach builds up its safety culture by ensuring a visible and practical commitment from leadership, maintaining prominent reminders about safe behaviors, and promoting accountable workplace behavior and continuous improvement.

“Every company has a culture whether they want one or not,” Freeman says. “What a company has to decide is what they want that culture to be—as well as identifying how they choose to define it.”

At Roger Hickel Contracting, a large Alaskan owned civil and building contractor, safety is the number one priority and responsibility as a construction employer, says company president Sean Hickel.

“We owe it to our employees to keep them safe and get them home to their families,” Hickel explains. “We try to instill a lead-by-example mentality to keep the safety culture strong. We reward our people for keeping job sites clean, safe, and minimizing risk.”

Devine and Shumaker agree that whether a business or individual should buy or rent equipment depends on projects’ end goals and duration as well as what they want to accomplish.

“Our offerings are diverse—from businesses’ 100,000-pound excavators to homeowners’ basic lawnmowers,” Devine says. Craig Taylor Equipment’s customers must operate their own machines and possibly maintain them. So, Devine says, “they have to ask themselves, ‘What do I need to do?’ and, more importantly, ‘What equipment should I have on-hand to be efficient and productive?’”

At beadedstream, purchases and rentals work differently than at Craig Taylor Equipment. “Our equipment is basically hands-off once people know where to plant the sensors and plug them into loggers,” Shumaker explains. Its customers do not operate the equipment and, by having solar-powered parts, little maintenance is required while data flows via satellite to the cloud and apps.

Devine and Shumaker both note that equipment and technology generally become more expensive and complicated over time. “Some technology, like beadedstream’s, can be configured remotely as updates are needed, which can make offerings more affordable,” Shumaker says. These developments allow his customers to keep up with and apply innovations. However, Shumaker acknowledges that, in other areas of technology, staying current with the latest advancements or being able to pass maintenance responsibilities to owners “may be an argument to rent instead of buy.”

Renting contributes less than 5 percent of Craig Taylor Equipment’s revenue. “When deciding between buying or renting, you should consider your capacity to handle maintenance and repairs,” Devine says. “Customers who have the infrastructure and staff to maintain equipment and establish regular preventative maintenance programs to prepare for fix/fail situations often buy. Those who don’t may want to rent so they don’t have to factor those costs into their projects’ economics.” Having mechanics or service know-how also influences the decision.

Shumaker acknowledges that when someone owns equipment, especially machines that collect data, that person has full control of the information—which can be even more valuable than the equipment itself. “We’re seeing the future become more data-centric for decision making, and it’s an accelerating trend,” Shumaker says. “The more data you have, the faster and better you can make decisions.” Thus, owning does provide a competitive advantage.

“Think about the numbers—that’s what I encourage people to do. Since each project is different, we typically talk customers through them,” says Devine. “Does your project’s duration margin justify buying versus renting? Then we consider that information to help them make a good decision.”

No right answer exists. For instance, tax implications—which are unique to each person and business—can impact choices too.

Norm Alden is safety manager at Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA). Regular safety training, meetings, and discussions “revolve around the concept of personal safety ownership,” Alden says, “meaning each employee is responsible for their own safety and the safety of others in their work area.”

A commitment to this starts at the top, Alden adds. “The most important aspect of ensuring work is completed safely is to develop and maintain trusting relationships. It is critical that company leaders are visibly engaged with frontline workers, demonstrating a sincere interest in the work they perform and the challenges they must overcome to perform work safely.”

Safety staff play an essential role in building and maintaining a strong safety program, and an effective safety worker “must be able to build a rapport with people in the field, communicate with them, listen to them, be present, and teach them how to be part of the solution,” DiLorenzo says.

A workforce with a strong safety culture will approach every task with safety in mind always, not just when the safety officer is watching, DiLorenzo adds.

“Safety is usually one of the first shortcuts taken, in order to meet the schedule,” she says. “With a safety culture, there are less shortcuts, less injuries, and lower insurance premiums. The way we have built a safety culture in our organization is through safety education, training, and good leadership. Leading by example is one of the most important ways to get tradespeople to buy into the culture.”

Safety leaders say training is essential to aligning employees’ behaviors and expectations. At Watterson Construction, that includes site-specific orientations for everyone working on a project.

“We also conduct weekly safety meetings on every project, along with toolbox talks,” she says. “Toolbox talks cover a wide variety of safety topics that make it easy to deliver essential safety training to employees on a regular basis.”

Roger Hickel Contracting rewards employees for keeping their job sites clean and safe and having no accidents. Teams work closely with third-party consultants.

Both Roger Hickel Contracting and Watterson also credit the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Construction Health and Safety Excellence program, or CHASE. The program partners licensed contractors with the department’s Alaska Occupational Safety and Health to take a proactive approach to reducing injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in the construction industry.

Establishing routine safety engagement opportunities means working safely isn’t a separate concept from simply working. It becomes part of the regular rhythm of the day and a core consideration in approaching and delivering work.

“At Chugach, safety is an inherent part of our workflow,” Freeman says. “For example, within line operations, every job begins with a tailboard during which the work to be performed is reviewed, hazards identified, and procedures, methods, and safe work practices are discussed so any risks are eliminated and/or mitigated.”

In Chugach power plants, unit work permits are used. This process requires communication and coordination between power plant operators and the maintenance crew working on a given unit, Freeman says. “It also provides a listing of safe work practices that may be required depending on what work tasks are being performed.”

Chugach has also developed a high-risk work procedure that proactively identifies foreseeable hazards and risks for high-risk work activities and ensures appropriate risk control measures are identified and implemented. This rigorous process goes even deeper into risk mitigation, with thorough reviews of materials and equipment, critical steps, potential errors and consequences, and past experiences.

GVEA also commits to routine safety briefings, meetings, and permitting to keep safe behavior at the forefront. “In addition, all group meetings begin with a participant voluntarily sharing a safety reminder or safety incident that helps others be mindful of safety in the workplace and at home,” Alden says.

Watterson recently met with its team to review the “Call Before you Dig” program, DiLorenzo says. That’s the campaign to protect people from unwitting contact with underground infrastructure.

“Digging into a buried electrical line or pressurized pipe poses a hazard to those digging and those nearby,” she says. “It also damages the utility’s property and can damage construction equipment and surrounding properties. Breaching a sewer, natural gas pipeline, or petroleum pipeline can create a hazard to the environment.”

By building safe practices into company policies, businesses can demonstrate that safety is key to achieving top results—and to protecting people, property, and the environment.

Some may fear putting safety at the forefront will threaten budgets and deliverables, but safety leaders have a different perspective.

“Safety costs are built into any project budget, so there should be no need to balance safety and cost,” says Freeman. “We like to think that safety doesn’t compete with other priorities and, instead, is simply an understood value that is built into any work plan or project.”

For companies that recognize a need to better incorporate safe practices into daily operations, DiLorenzo offers this: “Be the company that cares about their people. Know that those people working out in the field are the company’s number one assets.”

Tradespeople work long days and nights, often in tough and trying Alaska elements. Therefore, DiLorenzo says, “Be the company that understands that incorporating safety into your daily work tasks will result in higher productivity and allow your company to be more competitive in this industry. Value your employees above all else. No business can be successful, in the long run, without outstanding people. Ensuring your employees go home to their families safely every day is imperative.”

At Roger Hickel Contracting, safety outweighs budget every time, Hickel says.

“If a job is safe and well-maintained, it is usually on schedule and budget,” he says. “If there is even one small accident, the budget doesn’t matter anymore. The most important thing you can do as a company is keep your people safe. If your people and organization are not implementing good safety policies, your company will fail.”