By Hannah Aguilar-Mota
It’s not every day that when you ask someone about their biggest career highlight, the first thing they mention is safety. But that’s exactly what Carlos Zavala did when we spoke to the Fluor superintendent.
Carlos, who’s been working construction for 12 years, was named the eMOD Construction Safety Hero for December – and for good reason. He, nor any of his contractors or sub-contractors that he’s overseen on his projects, have ever had a major safety incident.
“I take pride in having zero major accidents,” he said. “So, I consider that a major achievement.”
The 38-year-old has earned the respect of his peers — especially when it comes to his diligence with safety. “Carlos can be counted on to resolve a safety concern either that he notices or is brought to his attention,” said Isaac Thompson, Fluor’s HSE supervisor. “He follows up to ensure it is done and follows up with the person who brought it to his attention.”
We recently met with Carlos to talk about his views on safety and construction, and here’s what he had to say:
What does being safe mean in your day-to-day work?
Being safe is about completing each work activity as safely as possible. So, without taking any shortcuts and doing it properly. Also, making sure no one is exposed to any hazards and mitigating the hazards as much as possible. And making sure no one gets hurt throughout the day — so they can go home safely.
What are some of the biggest hazards that you see in your daily work?
It’s a lot of a machine-human interface — that’s pretty common here since we have a lot of activities going on pretty near to each other, and a lot of heavy equipment working nearby.
Things like heavy trucks loaded with steel driving by, areas where you know people are working. And a lot of working in heights, and the possibility of falling objects from heights. And on days like today, when we have rain in the morning, it could be pretty slippery working out on the steel.
Is there anything about safety that keeps you up at night?
Outside of work, I’m always thinking of the next day. What are the things we’re going to be doing and how are we going to make sure the guys are safe and go home at the end of the day? It’s a lot of responsibility to make sure everyone is safe.
Do you ever find it difficult to talk about safety when a lot of people just want to get the work done and go home?
Oh yeah. Some workers don’t want to spend too much time talking about safety. But I find the beginning of the shift to be a good time. When everybody gets here, that’s when people pay attention and you can talk about safety and kind of plan out the whole day.
What do you think is the biggest challenge when it comes to safety and construction?
I think the biggest challenge is that there are a lot of contractors and crews who have their own ways of doing things and their own company policies. And at Fluor, with safety, we go beyond the OSHA requirements. So sometimes it’s a little challenging to try to tell subcontractors they need to follow our safety policies. But at the end of the day, at the end of the project, they often thank us because we raised their safety awareness level. Sometimes they take our policies into the next job site and the next project. So that’s a huge compliment.
Do you think that safety has improved in construction since you started?
Yeah, I think so. Contractors are more aware and companies are more focused on safety. Now you see a lot more safety personnel on the job site.
Do you think that safety could be improved anymore even more?
I think so. In general, having more workers safety being conscious at the start of a project versus just trying to come out here and doing the work you as fast as possible and leave. It’s more of a mindset than anything specific — and it has been improving a lot.
Sounds like you’ve been using eMOD a lot. How is it working for you?
I’ve really enjoyed it – and we’ve made some adjustments to it based on how we work and implement safety at the site. So it’s really helpful. When our contractors use it, they get more familiar with it and it becomes easier for them. It’s much easier to do PTP’s (pre-task plans) with eMOD — so that’s been a significant improvement.
So, what does it mean to you to be named a safety hero?
It’s an honor. It feels great that Isaac nominated me. I’m glad that people are noticing how hard we’re working out here.
Thanks for your time Carlos — and congratulations!
What is the eMOD Safety Hero Award?
Once a month, eMOD highlights someone working in the commercial construction industry who practices their craft with a safety-first approach. We recognize heroes who put safety ahead of productivity, who take action today to make our work safer tomorrow, who do the right thing rather than the most convenient. They promote accountability among team members, champion the latest safety practices, and encourage transparency about hazardous situations as they arise.
____________________________________
Hannah Aguilar-Mota is an onboarding specialist for eMOD.