Construction Safety: A Holistic Approach

Every day at BZI, we have one goal in mind – get the job done safely. But unfortunately, our industry does not have the best track record. In 2020 alone, 4,764 workers in the United States suffered fatal work injuries.

That’s why we are celebrating Construction Safety Week to help build awareness of holistic safety — which requires a strong mind, strong body, and the right state of mind for every task, every job, every day. Together, we are committed to building a safer industry.

Our Chief Safety Officer, Jesus Cadena, knows something about safety. He has created policies and procedures at BZI that minimize risk and ensure the safety of the company’s team members. He is responsible for enforcing policies and procedures, overseeing all safety protocols, developing improved safety training, and analyzing what happens when incidents happen. He was previously the Regional Safety Coordinator and Safety Rep and started with the company’s SteelTech Academy – a unique two-week safety and construction training and continuing education program that has more than 4,800 certifications since 2019.

Interestingly, Jesus’ background was not in construction before BZI. Prior, he was a client services manager for a nonprofit. His passion is to help people, and he found the transition to construction seamless as leading safety aligns very closely with his ambitions. He approaches his position at BZI the same way he worked in the nonprofit sector — taking an interest in his team members both professionally and personally.

“What I have noticed leading safety at BZI is that I am both a mentor and a friend,” said Jesus. “Specifically, connecting with team members in the field has helped me when I bring up any safety issues. My colleagues understand I am not coming from a place of authority — rather, this is two-way communication. There is no ‘I’m right you, and you are wrong.’ Building relationships with team members at work and outside the office shows that our company is truly here to take care of them. We never want them to feel punished with safety concerns. Instead, we want to ensure they are safe.”

On leading safety initiatives for BZI, Jesus said: “Training and safety culture leads to higher safety on job sites, team performance, and team member satisfaction. This is ingrained within the culture at BZI. I commit to ensuring that each team member is safe, which goes well beyond ratings. I want everyone to be in good health, not overworked or fatigued. I also want to make sure team members have a good work-life balance. Being happy in your personal life leads to a happier work life.”

Jesus added,” We constantly conduct leadership training around production, quality, and safety to ensure our teams are well-rounded. Our goal is to mitigate hazards and risks from the start, which BZI’s panelization system already does — allowing teams to build and assemble on the ground vs. traditional steel erection companies to lessen the exposure to falls. For Construction Safety Week, we have toolbox talks daily on preventing falls, ladder safety, and inspections. We are also providing incentives for our team members this week with giveaways encouraging them to enjoy their time off work – whether that be sports, fishing, etc.”