By Hannah Aguilar-Mota
One thing people don’t understand about construction safety is how the impact of every injury cascades well beyond the person who was injured. Just after Dustin Westerbeck began his career as an electrical apprentice, one of his crewmates was killed when he jumped out of a backhoe to retrieve something he’d dropped. The backhoe operator, unaware that someone was in the trench, accidentally struck him with the backhoe’s bucket.
Eighteen years later, you can hear the still-raw emotion in his voice when Dustin, who was on a break when the accident occurred, talks about the event that has shaped his life and career.
“It was just horrible for everybody,” he said, adding that the operator of the backhoe was so distraught that he later became suicidal. “It changed his life forever. To this day, I still think about it — because if something happened to my guys today, I couldn’t live with myself.”
Now a foreman for Howell Electric, Dustin has become a trusted trade partner in part because of his rigid safety practices. The 40-year-old’s steadfast commitment to putting safety first earned him this month’s eMOD Construction Safety Hero Award.
“Dustin never skips a beat and will not take shortcuts or put anyone at risk,” said Dome Construction superintendent Nick Ramirez. “I would take Dustin with me to any job knowing that when my back is turned, he would not change his ways. I know I can trust him.”
I recently had the chance to talk with Dustin about his views on construction safety, along with the tragic incident that still affects him today.
What does being safe mean in your day-to-day work?
It means taking one step back and looking at the big picture and understanding your surroundings. What hazards are around you? Do you have the correct tools? You need to have the ability and understanding to know when it’s time to stop and step back instead of pushing forward.
Is there a time when you’ve recently had to stop work for safety reasons?
There have been times where we’ve been digging and I see something odd in the soil — it becomes a different color. And when you see that change, then it’s time to stop and figure out what’s going on. And there have been times where I see someone using the wrong tools or incorrect ladder. I’m not afraid to say, “Hey, guys, what are we doing here? Let’s rethink this.”
Many construction workers relish the ‘tough guy’ persona. Do you find it difficult to talk openly about safety issues?
No, I don’t. I know that sometimes I say things that may be repetitive, and you realize someone may be annoyed hearing something for the third time. But that’s my job to make sure people hear it — even if I have to repeat, repeat, repeat, and remind. You have to keep it out in the open.
Nick Ramirez at Dome said he really trusts you to be safe. What does that mean to you?
It means a lot. I don’t like to take shortcuts. I’m not going to be one of those guys that says, “Hey, I promise I can get this done by this time,” or, “I know this is getting a little unsafe, but we’ve got to finish it.”
How important is the trust between a general contractor and trades like electrical?
I think it’s huge. It’s everything because when you have that trust from day one, it allows you to do your job without worrying and without anyone hovering over you — which makes it a little less stressful. With less stress, you can work safer and a little bit more comfortably. And once you lose that trust, there’s no getting it back. And so for me, that trust means everything.
Have you ever witnessed a serious accident on the job site before?
I have. It was when I was an apprentice and it was life-changing for me. The guy passed away. He was on a backhoe. And back then apprentices would jump down, take a shovel, dig 3-4 inches just make sure there isn’t anything, and then jump back up on the backhoe which would then dig. I had gone on break, and he was there doing it by himself. So, he jumped down and then jumped back up. And when he jumped back up, he dropped something. And so he jumped back down in to grab it. The driver didn’t see him. And so the driver swung around with his bucket and hit him in the back of the head. And unfortunately, he passed away. I was on break so I didn’t see it — but I was back there within 90 seconds. It easily could have been me.
This was 18 years ago, but it stuck with me forever. When you see something like that so early on, it definitely ingrains in you the importance of safety.
Do you think your career path might have been different if that hadn’t happened?
That’s hard to say. But because of it, I’ve always been so much more cautious. It was just horrible for everybody. The backhoe driver later locked himself in his house about three weeks later and someone had to go in after him. He was suicidal. It changed his life forever. To this day, I still think about it — because if something happened to my guys today, I couldn’t live with myself. And so I think of that every time I put anybody in any type of situation. They have loved ones, and they may have children. Can you live with this? Because if somebody gets hurt, it’s on you. You may be the last person who gave them directions.
So, yeah, it’s definitely changed my perspective and made me more aware every time I put somebody in any type of harm’s way. I take a lot of precautions when there’s any chance of somebody not following protocols and being in an unsafe position. It just took that one moment — that one lapse of judgment where the kid didn’t let the driver know he was jumping back in the hole, and where the driver didn’t double-check. If you allow yourself to go just a little off the trail, things can go horribly south.
What do you think is the biggest challenge today when it comes to safety in the industry?
Complacency. People get very complacent. Some people just feel like they can get away with not following 100 percent of the safety protocol. And nothing’s going to happen to them because they’ve done it before. They don’t understand that all it takes is half a split second and you are no longer in the career that you were in.
What’s it like to be honored as a safety hero?
Well, I don’t like being put on the spot — I’m not very good at doing these interviews. You know, I get a little nervous, but I’ll take it as a win. And I feel very appreciative that you guys do something like this. It means a lot.
Thanks for sharing your story Dustin — 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.
Nominate an eMOD Safety Hero Today
Hannah Aguilar-Mota is an onboarding specialist for eMOD.