April 5, 2020 • 21 mins
Clayton Leibold of Leibold, Inc. joins Chris Martin and Jon O'Brien on the Building PA Podcast to discuss safety and its impact on the industry, his business and his employees.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of building PA a
construction industry podcasttaped and recorded right here in
the great state of Pennsylvaniafor the wonderful construction
industry.
I am John O'Brien from theKeystone contractors association
and I'm Chris Barton with Atlasmarketing, and we tell stories
(00:24):
for people who build things.
Awesome.
Good stuff.
Hello, Chris, how are we doingtoday?
Hey, John, how are you doingtoday?
I'm looking forward to ourdiscussion today.
It should be fun.
We're talking safety today.
We have a Clayton live old fromlibeled, inc.
A fine mechanical contractorbased in the great city.
Great town of Pottsville,Pennsylvania.
(00:45):
Hello clay.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hello.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Good.
Doing great.
Doing good.
Well, you are joining us.
Like I said, we're going to talksafety.
And this is part of our podcastseries.
Recall what we're calling,building a safety culture and
your company has been a membernow I believe three years going
on three years of the KCA, whichis awesome.
(01:11):
And, and during that time, your,your company has taken home.
Two of the KCA safety awards forsafest subcontractor under
50,000 man hours worked with,with this is the important part
with zero injuries.
So that's, you're going on a twoyear streak here, zero injuries.
(01:33):
So yeah, so, uh, who better tospeak with, uh, concerning
safety culture, then a awardwinning safety contractor that
places a strong emphasis, uh, inthe area safety.
So welcome to the podcast.
Sure.
Thank you.
Yeah.
(01:54):
Um, yeah, like I said, we'regonna talk safety here.
So, uh, you know, you want totouch on your company and just
first off, maybe introduceyourself and your company and
then we can kind of delve intothe safety topic.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Sure, sure.
So, as you mentioned, uh, myname is Clayton libel, the, the
owner and president of libeledincorporated.
We're a full mechanical HPAC Ximetal and piping contractor, uh,
located here in Pottsville,Pennsylvania.
We are, uh, going on eight yearsin, in business.
(02:30):
My company has been going to bein business for eight years
here, but I personally have, uh,been in the construction
industry and in the field forgoing on 24 years as a, as a, a
union pipe fitter.
Um, so that's kinda mybackground.
And then as a, as I mentioned,my company, um, was formed about
(02:53):
eight years ago and we, youknow, serve as all of, pretty
much all of Pennsylvania, um,and surrounding States.
And we do, you know, emphasize,you know, safety as a very
important part and aspect of,uh, our job, uh, and our, our
day to day activities, uh, in,in the field
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Now, concerning safety.
Is that, is that something thatwas kind of instilled in you
during your 24 years, you know,working in the field prior to,
to starting your company?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, it was early on, you know, I could, I could
tell that, you know, obviouslysafety is important, um, in the,
uh, in the field and, um, it waskind of, you know, brought to
our attention on a regular basisand, you know, we, um, we always
(03:47):
strive to do things in thesafest manner.
Um, as you know, going back 24years, as it's starting out as
an apprentice, obviously you arelearning every day and, and
things and certain incidences,you know, come up and, and, you
know, hopefully you learn fromthem and, you know, and can grow
(04:08):
and, you know, understand howthings work, how and why safety
is so important, especially inthe construction industry, in
our field with so many thingsthat could, could happen, um,
you know, on the job siterelated to, you know, heavy
objects, you know, multiplethings that can occur that we,
(04:30):
we may or may not have controlof.
So my peers, foreman, projectmanagers, um, I feel did a good
job from early on instilling the, the simple fact that, you
know, safety is so important.
And if you want to continue to,to do your job, be healthy and,
you know, continue to, you know,be able to do the job that
(04:54):
you're wanting to do to do it inthe proper correct manner.
And, you know, just be aware of,of your surroundings and, you
know, always have it, you know,on your mind and, and kinda, you
know, remain, not get too, youknow, laid back in, in your day
to day, you know, activities,
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Clayton it with your experience.
And clearly you have someamazing experiences leading into
this, but what do you see as thebiggest challenge for, um, not
only the safety industry, butmore importantly, the
construction industry as itrelates to safety,
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Probably maybe overcoming, um, the, the job
site hurdles, the things thatare constantly, you know,
brought up and, you know, in, uh, the day to day, um, active
daily activities of being onsite, your timelines are getting
shorter and shorter.
(05:52):
Uh, things are beingaccelerated, whether, you know,
whatever the reason may be, butI think we all have to keep in
mind, you know, that can'tcompromise, uh, the safety of,
of how the job is getting done.
Um, and, and the manner that youdo it.
So I would say, you know, the,the, um, more recent trend maybe
(06:15):
of trying to do as much work aspossible in a very short
timeframe, um, you know, we justcan't, we can, uh, look past or
beyond the, uh, the fact of justdoing it in a safe manner.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
You know, the construction industry has a,
has, is we've been talking aboutit with clients on our end.
And I know John and I havespoken about it multiple times,
but in that is a workershortage.
Are you finding that in thesafety industry as well?
Are you, are you having a hardtime finding qualified safety
(06:51):
professionals?
Um,
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, not, not, not as, as hard as someone may
think.
Um, it is, uh, know, I guess thefact that, you know, the
construction industry is, isexperiencing a shortage in some
fields, uh, with us being aunion mechanical, uh,
construction company, we have,um, a good source for competent
(07:16):
well-trained individuals, uh, upand coming through our
apprenticeship programs.
Um, so, so the, the good keyindividuals are there to be
found.
Um, and we've had good luck withtaking some key, you know,
employees, um, uh, foreman,project managers, and kind of
(07:38):
molding them into, you know,good safety, uh, individuals.
So, you know, it kind of thatworked out real well for us
because, you know, I feelthey're the best and most
competent because we're takingtheir field expertise and
knowledge and just fine tuningthat and, and molding them into
(08:01):
a good safety, you know, um,individual to, to lead and, you
know, lay the foundation for therest of our company as far as
the safety program goes
Speaker 1 (08:17):
And, uh, concerning, uh, new hires.
And when you bring someone onnew, either in the field or a
project manager, um, is, isonboarding a, a, a challenge at
all, as far as making sure thatthese, uh, new hires also
believe in safety and they buyinto the safety cultures.
(08:38):
Is that a challenge at all with,with new people?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it can be, um, especially maybe a younger, uh,
the younger generation or, orsomeone that's not, um, had the,
you know, experience of being inthe field, seeing, uh, examples
of how safety is so importantand possibly, you know, not
experiencing near misses or, orsmaller accidents that might
(09:06):
catch their attention.
Um, if they don't have thatknowledge and if they're coming
from a, a, you know, a field orsomething, or straight out of,
uh, maybe, you know, uh, collegeor high school that just don't
have the experience, it is, itis harder, but, you know, we
just have to take the time to,you know, educate them and give
(09:27):
them the proper, you know,paperwork, the information, the,
the protocol of how we operateas a company.
And we just have to make surethey, they understand it and,
um, you know, abide by it, um,because it's not, it's not going
to be taken lightly.
And that's what I would expectfrom, from all my employees.
(09:48):
So it's, it's something that,that needs to be done and done
correctly, or it's just notgoing to work out.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Yeah.
And I'm, I'm getting to knowyour company more and more, you
know, we're, we're a few hoursapart, you know, but I'm getting
to know your company more.
And it seems as though there'sa, buy-in amongst your, your
foreman and your, your, your toppeople, you know, in the field
and in the office and safety,and I'm sure that's extremely
helpful when it comes toonboarding.
(10:15):
Um, was that any advice to othercompanies, like, how do you get
the buy in, or, you know, Idon't, I don't know if you can
touch on that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Sure, sure.
Uh, it is, uh, difficult attimes to, to make sure that
everybody is buying in.
Um, I, it, it's important tohave the, the top guys in our
safety program, leading byexample, um, showing that their
fellow employees have someone totake after, or look up to, or
(10:48):
just bounce questions off of,or, or conditions of, of, of a
job site maybe, or someone thereto, to offer some advice or
guidance if they would havequestions.
But, um, as long as they'rethere leading by example,
getting the rest of the crewsto, to buy in and understand,
(11:08):
that's a way of doing business,that's the way, uh, that I want
the culture of the, of thecompany to, to be like.
And, um, you know, they're thereto make a point that we're going
to discuss, uh, safety, uh, on a, uh, weekly, even daily basis.
And that's what is expected andit is gonna have to happen.
(11:34):
And, and if you just keepdriving home, that, that point,
you know, eventually they, uh,dis you know, believe that it,
it does make sense.
And, uh, and there is proof thatit works, uh, obviously we're
who we're winning some safetyawards and, and are zero, you
(11:55):
know, injury in the field speaksto that, you know, so if they
see the results and as theresults are compounding and
building, um, we are on a knockon wood, uh, a pretty good
streak here of, of not, um,having any, uh, work injuries
(12:16):
and, uh, over three years.
So they, they see the results.
And I think it's, I think it'seasier for them to buy in and
accept it as a, you know, a wayof, of the daily routine.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Yeah.
It's obviously no, no accident,you know, three years.
That's a great run.
And obviously, um, the buy in,is there, um, also maybe a touch
on outside resources?
I mean, do you, do you reachoutside the company to help with
maybe training at all?
You mentioned the unions, arethey helpful at all?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Yeah.
Yep.
Yep.
They're very, very helpful.
We belong to, you know, um, acouple different associations,
similar to Keystone contractor'sassociation.
We, uh, affiliated with, uh,SMACNA sheet metal contractors
association, also the MCAA, themechanical contractors
association, and they do offer awealth of, uh, continued
(13:14):
education, um, safety seminars,conferences, um, you know, on a,
on a regular basis.
So we do, you know, lean towardsthe, you know, on them with, you
know, providing additional, uh,valuable tools such as, you
know, the, the toolbox talks,the, some guidelines, some, some
(13:38):
additional, you know, safetyinformation that we can
implement and, um, add to our,our portfolio.
It cannot hurt to have, youknow, too much information.
You don't want to keep repeatingcertain things or harp on
certain, certain conditions oraspects.
It's always good to mix it up abit.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Do you have any, uh, advice, maybe like the share
with a young entrepreneur thatwants to start out in industry,
uh, advice, safety, you know,obviously there's various pieces
of advice.
You can give someone, but whenit comes to doing a 50, 51st
company, anything you'd like toshare,
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Um, I would say, you know, there's, there's real, uh,
no good example where taking ashortcut in, in, you know,
safety, whether it's youremployee, yourself, your, your
fellow employees, or yourcoworkers, there's real, no good
(14:43):
reason to, to do any shortcuts,uh, that would compromise the
safety of, of anyone.
It would, it really benefitanyone and would certainly do
more harm than good by, youknow, possibly causing, you
know, accidents.
(15:03):
Um, whether, like I said toyourself or to others, you know,
just for the simple reason thatit might, you think it might be
a quicker to do a certain task,one way that may be a little bit
more unsafe, you know, orwhatever the reason may be.
I just wouldn't recommend, um,you know, any, you know,
shortcuts or, or trying tocompromise doing something in a
(15:27):
safe way.
Um, I actually have, uh, had theexperience where I had to make a
tough call and tell my guys topull off of a job just for the
sole reason that it was unsafe.
And it wasn't a populardecision.
The, the customer was not happy,but in the long run, after, you
(15:51):
know, further explanation frommy point of view, he understood
it and ultimately was, was okaywith it and then thanked me.
So, so that's the, you know,just a brief example of, you
know, doing something correctlyto not compromise, uh, uh,
potentially, you know, um,unsafe condition
Speaker 3 (16:11):
In Clayton.
That's a great example of, youknow, safety first, not only for
your company, for your, youremployees, but also for the
client and the fact that theclient came back and said, thank
you, uh, you know, hats off toyou for that, because that just
doesn't happen that often.
Um, but, but my question to youis do you find that a lot, a lot
(16:34):
of your clients aren't reallyfocused on safety?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Um, you know, honestly I don't, we don't find
that we are finding even moreand more of our customers and
clients are gearing up andleaning more towards a much
safer environment, workingenvironment and, and, and job
site conditions and workingconditions and doing the certain
(16:59):
tasks that we were hired to doin the most safe, the safest
manner possible.
So we, we maybe it's cause wehave some pretty good customers
and clients, but I do feel,
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Um, I didn't feel home.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
We, we, we, uh, we definitely, um, work in some
very, uh, very sensitive, uh,facilities where that, that,
that, that the unsafe type workis just not tolerated.
So we can't, we can't afford todo anything but the job, but,
(17:34):
but do the job safely, uh,because we just won't be working
there any longer.
Um, so I I've found that theemote, I can honestly say most
of our customers and clientsexpect us and hold us to a very
high safety standard.
And that's probably, you know,the, one of the main reasons we
continue to be safe is we, wealso have that, um, in the back
(17:57):
of our minds that if we don't dothis the right way, we may not
be working here, not, not onlyfor my company, but at that
facility, you know, any law.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Right, right.
And I think too, you know, toyour point that the entire
industry has obviously put ahuge emphasis on safety over the
last 20 to 30 years, you know,at least, and we've even seen it
with our clients, um, you know,working with trade unions and,
and contractors that, you know,we go on photo shoots and, you
know, we, we, we know we can'ttake photography or video of
(18:30):
certain elements because it's,there has to be a certain safety
functionality to it.
If, if not, there's, you know,it, it shows the wrong story or
gives the wrong message if youwill.
So I think you're right.
It's, it's a balance ofeverybody understanding how
important safety is to move theindustry forward and get out of
(18:50):
the, you know, the, the, thetypical thoughts and
perspective, perceptiveperception, sorry of the
industry itself.
So I'm glad to hear that from,from both you and your company
and your clients.
That's great.
That's great.
Right?
Yep.
Kinda done a lot to me.
We touched on a lot here today,Chris, any other questions or
(19:12):
comments or, but I would sayClayton, thank you.
This has been reallyenlightening.
And, uh, hopefully we can askyou back in the future and we
can talk more about safety as itrelates, not only to your
company, but talk a little bitmore about your company too.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Sure.
Sounds.
Sounds good.
Uh, I, um, you know, appreciatethe time, uh, that we, uh, you
know, we're able to take in andcontinue to, you know, shed
some, some light on a, a more ofa safety culture within the
skilled trades, you know, sectorof the, of the construction
industry, and I'm happy to happyto help.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Absolutely.
And then have you been a boardwinning contractor?
Of course, we'd like to have youback on, but I got to request
one request.
If we have you back in thefuture, we have to record it at,
at your, uh, your company.
Chris, you have to see the farm.
He has goats, horses.
I believe you have horses andpigs and you name it.
(20:17):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Sure.
We're happy to show some folksaround when we have visitors.
We just had a baby, a babydonkey last week.
So she's, uh, she's pretty darncute.
So she's hanging around here, soshe's always a fun to hang
around with.
So it's, uh, it works out prettywell.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Well, I have, yeah, I'm there, man.
I, I have to say, I don't thinkI've ever seen a baby donkey, so
that'll be a, that'll beinteresting.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Sure, absolutely.
See
Speaker 3 (20:48):
All the stuff we talk about here.
It's not just aboutconstruction, right.
It's awesome.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Very cool.
Yeah.
Well, thank you for your timehere.
This is a excellent conversationand we look forward to seeing
the baby donkey.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
That sounds good.
Anytime.
Thanks for having me.
Hello, and welcome to another episode of building PA a
construction industry podcasttaped and recorded right here in
the great state of Pennsylvaniafor the wonderful construction
industry.
I am John O'Brien from theKeystone contractors association
and I'm Chris Barton with Atlasmarketing, and we tell stories
(00:24):
for people who build things.
Awesome.
Good stuff.
Hello, Chris, how are we doingtoday?
Hey, John, how are you doingtoday?
I'm looking forward to ourdiscussion today.
It should be fun.
We're talking safety today.
We have a Clayton live old fromlibeled, inc.
A fine mechanical contractorbased in the great city.
Great town of Pottsville,Pennsylvania.
(00:45):
Hello clay.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hello.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Good.
Doing great.
Doing good.
Well, you are joining us.
Like I said, we're going to talksafety.
And this is part of our podcastseries.
Recall what we're calling,building a safety culture and
your company has been a membernow I believe three years going
on three years of the KCA, whichis awesome.
(01:11):
And, and during that time, your,your company has taken home.
Two of the KCA safety awards forsafest subcontractor under
50,000 man hours worked with,with this is the important part
with zero injuries.
So that's, you're going on a twoyear streak here, zero injuries.
(01:33):
So yeah, so, uh, who better tospeak with, uh, concerning
safety culture, then a awardwinning safety contractor that
places a strong emphasis, uh, inthe area safety.
So welcome to the podcast.
Sure.
Thank you.
Yeah.
(01:54):
Um, yeah, like I said, we'regonna talk safety here.
So, uh, you know, you want totouch on your company and just
first off, maybe introduceyourself and your company and
then we can kind of delve intothe safety topic.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Sure, sure.
So, as you mentioned, uh, myname is Clayton libel, the, the
owner and president of libeledincorporated.
We're a full mechanical HPAC Ximetal and piping contractor, uh,
located here in Pottsville,Pennsylvania.
We are, uh, going on eight yearsin, in business.
(02:30):
My company has been going to bein business for eight years
here, but I personally have, uh,been in the construction
industry and in the field forgoing on 24 years as a, as a, a
union pipe fitter.
Um, so that's kinda mybackground.
And then as a, as I mentioned,my company, um, was formed about
(02:53):
eight years ago and we, youknow, serve as all of, pretty
much all of Pennsylvania, um,and surrounding States.
And we do, you know, emphasize,you know, safety as a very
important part and aspect of,uh, our job, uh, and our, our
day to day activities, uh, in,in the field
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Now, concerning safety.
Is that, is that something thatwas kind of instilled in you
during your 24 years, you know,working in the field prior to,
to starting your company?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, it was early on, you know, I could, I could
tell that, you know, obviouslysafety is important, um, in the,
uh, in the field and, um, it waskind of, you know, brought to
our attention on a regular basisand, you know, we, um, we always
(03:47):
strive to do things in thesafest manner.
Um, as you know, going back 24years, as it's starting out as
an apprentice, obviously you arelearning every day and, and
things and certain incidences,you know, come up and, and, you
know, hopefully you learn fromthem and, you know, and can grow
(04:08):
and, you know, understand howthings work, how and why safety
is so important, especially inthe construction industry, in
our field with so many thingsthat could, could happen, um,
you know, on the job siterelated to, you know, heavy
objects, you know, multiplethings that can occur that we,
(04:30):
we may or may not have controlof.
So my peers, foreman, projectmanagers, um, I feel did a good
job from early on instilling the, the simple fact that, you
know, safety is so important.
And if you want to continue to,to do your job, be healthy and,
you know, continue to, you know,be able to do the job that
(04:54):
you're wanting to do to do it inthe proper correct manner.
And, you know, just be aware of,of your surroundings and, you
know, always have it, you know,on your mind and, and kinda, you
know, remain, not get too, youknow, laid back in, in your day
to day, you know, activities,
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Clayton it with your experience.
And clearly you have someamazing experiences leading into
this, but what do you see as thebiggest challenge for, um, not
only the safety industry, butmore importantly, the
construction industry as itrelates to safety,
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Probably maybe overcoming, um, the, the job
site hurdles, the things thatare constantly, you know,
brought up and, you know, in, uh, the day to day, um, active
daily activities of being onsite, your timelines are getting
shorter and shorter.
(05:52):
Uh, things are beingaccelerated, whether, you know,
whatever the reason may be, butI think we all have to keep in
mind, you know, that can'tcompromise, uh, the safety of,
of how the job is getting done.
Um, and, and the manner that youdo it.
So I would say, you know, the,the, um, more recent trend maybe
(06:15):
of trying to do as much work aspossible in a very short
timeframe, um, you know, we justcan't, we can, uh, look past or
beyond the, uh, the fact of justdoing it in a safe manner.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
You know, the construction industry has a,
has, is we've been talking aboutit with clients on our end.
And I know John and I havespoken about it multiple times,
but in that is a workershortage.
Are you finding that in thesafety industry as well?
Are you, are you having a hardtime finding qualified safety
(06:51):
professionals?
Um,
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, not, not, not as, as hard as someone may
think.
Um, it is, uh, know, I guess thefact that, you know, the
construction industry is, isexperiencing a shortage in some
fields, uh, with us being aunion mechanical, uh,
construction company, we have,um, a good source for competent
(07:16):
well-trained individuals, uh, upand coming through our
apprenticeship programs.
Um, so, so the, the good keyindividuals are there to be
found.
Um, and we've had good luck withtaking some key, you know,
employees, um, uh, foreman,project managers, and kind of
(07:38):
molding them into, you know,good safety, uh, individuals.
So, you know, it kind of thatworked out real well for us
because, you know, I feelthey're the best and most
competent because we're takingtheir field expertise and
knowledge and just fine tuningthat and, and molding them into
(08:01):
a good safety, you know, um,individual to, to lead and, you
know, lay the foundation for therest of our company as far as
the safety program goes
Speaker 1 (08:17):
And, uh, concerning, uh, new hires.
And when you bring someone onnew, either in the field or a
project manager, um, is, isonboarding a, a, a challenge at
all, as far as making sure thatthese, uh, new hires also
believe in safety and they buyinto the safety cultures.
(08:38):
Is that a challenge at all with,with new people?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it can be, um, especially maybe a younger, uh,
the younger generation or, orsomeone that's not, um, had the,
you know, experience of being inthe field, seeing, uh, examples
of how safety is so importantand possibly, you know, not
experiencing near misses or, orsmaller accidents that might
(09:06):
catch their attention.
Um, if they don't have thatknowledge and if they're coming
from a, a, you know, a field orsomething, or straight out of,
uh, maybe, you know, uh, collegeor high school that just don't
have the experience, it is, itis harder, but, you know, we
just have to take the time to,you know, educate them and give
(09:27):
them the proper, you know,paperwork, the information, the,
the protocol of how we operateas a company.
And we just have to make surethey, they understand it and,
um, you know, abide by it, um,because it's not, it's not going
to be taken lightly.
And that's what I would expectfrom, from all my employees.
(09:48):
So it's, it's something that,that needs to be done and done
correctly, or it's just notgoing to work out.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Yeah.
And I'm, I'm getting to knowyour company more and more, you
know, we're, we're a few hoursapart, you know, but I'm getting
to know your company more.
And it seems as though there'sa, buy-in amongst your, your
foreman and your, your, your toppeople, you know, in the field
and in the office and safety,and I'm sure that's extremely
helpful when it comes toonboarding.
(10:15):
Um, was that any advice to othercompanies, like, how do you get
the buy in, or, you know, Idon't, I don't know if you can
touch on that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Sure, sure.
Uh, it is, uh, difficult attimes to, to make sure that
everybody is buying in.
Um, I, it, it's important tohave the, the top guys in our
safety program, leading byexample, um, showing that their
fellow employees have someone totake after, or look up to, or
(10:48):
just bounce questions off of,or, or conditions of, of, of a
job site maybe, or someone thereto, to offer some advice or
guidance if they would havequestions.
But, um, as long as they'rethere leading by example,
getting the rest of the crewsto, to buy in and understand,
(11:08):
that's a way of doing business,that's the way, uh, that I want
the culture of the, of thecompany to, to be like.
And, um, you know, they're thereto make a point that we're going
to discuss, uh, safety, uh, on a, uh, weekly, even daily basis.
And that's what is expected andit is gonna have to happen.
(11:34):
And, and if you just keepdriving home, that, that point,
you know, eventually they, uh,dis you know, believe that it,
it does make sense.
And, uh, and there is proof thatit works, uh, obviously we're
who we're winning some safetyawards and, and are zero, you
(11:55):
know, injury in the field speaksto that, you know, so if they
see the results and as theresults are compounding and
building, um, we are on a knockon wood, uh, a pretty good
streak here of, of not, um,having any, uh, work injuries
(12:16):
and, uh, over three years.
So they, they see the results.
And I think it's, I think it'seasier for them to buy in and
accept it as a, you know, a wayof, of the daily routine.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Yeah.
It's obviously no, no accident,you know, three years.
That's a great run.
And obviously, um, the buy in,is there, um, also maybe a touch
on outside resources?
I mean, do you, do you reachoutside the company to help with
maybe training at all?
You mentioned the unions, arethey helpful at all?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Yeah.
Yep.
Yep.
They're very, very helpful.
We belong to, you know, um, acouple different associations,
similar to Keystone contractor'sassociation.
We, uh, affiliated with, uh,SMACNA sheet metal contractors
association, also the MCAA, themechanical contractors
association, and they do offer awealth of, uh, continued
(13:14):
education, um, safety seminars,conferences, um, you know, on a,
on a regular basis.
So we do, you know, lean towardsthe, you know, on them with, you
know, providing additional, uh,valuable tools such as, you
know, the, the toolbox talks,the, some guidelines, some, some
(13:38):
additional, you know, safetyinformation that we can
implement and, um, add to our,our portfolio.
It cannot hurt to have, youknow, too much information.
You don't want to keep repeatingcertain things or harp on
certain, certain conditions oraspects.
It's always good to mix it up abit.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Do you have any, uh, advice, maybe like the share
with a young entrepreneur thatwants to start out in industry,
uh, advice, safety, you know,obviously there's various pieces
of advice.
You can give someone, but whenit comes to doing a 50, 51st
company, anything you'd like toshare,
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Um, I would say, you know, there's, there's real, uh,
no good example where taking ashortcut in, in, you know,
safety, whether it's youremployee, yourself, your, your
fellow employees, or yourcoworkers, there's real, no good
(14:43):
reason to, to do any shortcuts,uh, that would compromise the
safety of, of anyone.
It would, it really benefitanyone and would certainly do
more harm than good by, youknow, possibly causing, you
know, accidents.
(15:03):
Um, whether, like I said toyourself or to others, you know,
just for the simple reason thatit might, you think it might be
a quicker to do a certain task,one way that may be a little bit
more unsafe, you know, orwhatever the reason may be.
I just wouldn't recommend, um,you know, any, you know,
shortcuts or, or trying tocompromise doing something in a
(15:27):
safe way.
Um, I actually have, uh, had theexperience where I had to make a
tough call and tell my guys topull off of a job just for the
sole reason that it was unsafe.
And it wasn't a populardecision.
The, the customer was not happy,but in the long run, after, you
(15:51):
know, further explanation frommy point of view, he understood
it and ultimately was, was okaywith it and then thanked me.
So, so that's the, you know,just a brief example of, you
know, doing something correctlyto not compromise, uh, uh,
potentially, you know, um,unsafe condition
Speaker 3 (16:11):
In Clayton.
That's a great example of, youknow, safety first, not only for
your company, for your, youremployees, but also for the
client and the fact that theclient came back and said, thank
you, uh, you know, hats off toyou for that, because that just
doesn't happen that often.
Um, but, but my question to youis do you find that a lot, a lot
(16:34):
of your clients aren't reallyfocused on safety?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Um, you know, honestly I don't, we don't find
that we are finding even moreand more of our customers and
clients are gearing up andleaning more towards a much
safer environment, workingenvironment and, and, and job
site conditions and workingconditions and doing the certain
(16:59):
tasks that we were hired to doin the most safe, the safest
manner possible.
So we, we maybe it's cause wehave some pretty good customers
and clients, but I do feel,
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Um, I didn't feel home.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
We, we, we, uh, we definitely, um, work in some
very, uh, very sensitive, uh,facilities where that, that,
that, that the unsafe type workis just not tolerated.
So we can't, we can't afford todo anything but the job, but,
(17:34):
but do the job safely, uh,because we just won't be working
there any longer.
Um, so I I've found that theemote, I can honestly say most
of our customers and clientsexpect us and hold us to a very
high safety standard.
And that's probably, you know,the, one of the main reasons we
continue to be safe is we, wealso have that, um, in the back
(17:57):
of our minds that if we don't dothis the right way, we may not
be working here, not, not onlyfor my company, but at that
facility, you know, any law.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Right, right.
And I think too, you know, toyour point that the entire
industry has obviously put ahuge emphasis on safety over the
last 20 to 30 years, you know,at least, and we've even seen it
with our clients, um, you know,working with trade unions and,
and contractors that, you know,we go on photo shoots and, you
know, we, we, we know we can'ttake photography or video of
(18:30):
certain elements because it's,there has to be a certain safety
functionality to it.
If, if not, there's, you know,it, it shows the wrong story or
gives the wrong message if youwill.
So I think you're right.
It's, it's a balance ofeverybody understanding how
important safety is to move theindustry forward and get out of
(18:50):
the, you know, the, the, thetypical thoughts and
perspective, perceptiveperception, sorry of the
industry itself.
So I'm glad to hear that from,from both you and your company
and your clients.
That's great.
That's great.
Right?
Yep.
Kinda done a lot to me.
We touched on a lot here today,Chris, any other questions or
(19:12):
comments or, but I would sayClayton, thank you.
This has been reallyenlightening.
And, uh, hopefully we can askyou back in the future and we
can talk more about safety as itrelates, not only to your
company, but talk a little bitmore about your company too.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Sure.
Sounds.
Sounds good.
Uh, I, um, you know, appreciatethe time, uh, that we, uh, you
know, we're able to take in andcontinue to, you know, shed
some, some light on a, a more ofa safety culture within the
skilled trades, you know, sectorof the, of the construction
industry, and I'm happy to happyto help.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Absolutely.
And then have you been a boardwinning contractor?
Of course, we'd like to have youback on, but I got to request
one request.
If we have you back in thefuture, we have to record it at,
at your, uh, your company.
Chris, you have to see the farm.
He has goats, horses.
I believe you have horses andpigs and you name it.
(20:17):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Sure.
We're happy to show some folksaround when we have visitors.
We just had a baby, a babydonkey last week.
So she's, uh, she's pretty darncute.
So she's hanging around here, soshe's always a fun to hang
around with.
So it's, uh, it works out prettywell.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Well, I have, yeah, I'm there, man.
I, I have to say, I don't thinkI've ever seen a baby donkey, so
that'll be a, that'll beinteresting.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Sure, absolutely.
See
Speaker 3 (20:48):
All the stuff we talk about here.
It's not just aboutconstruction, right.
It's awesome.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Very cool.
Yeah.
Well, thank you for your timehere.
This is a excellent conversationand we look forward to seeing
the baby donkey.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
That sounds good.
Anytime.
Thanks for having me.
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