"Expecting workers to just follow the rules can not only feel stifling for them, it can cause you to miss out on new ideas and observations that you can only get from workers doing the job. Every person needs to be trained with and made aware of safety practices and standards due to the ever changing environment of a construction site, where hazards can be created through normal work. The ability to identify these hazards is the first step in maintaining safe working conditions for everyone. Empowering individuals to act on addressing any hazards can help ensure that we all go home after work."

"There is a culture in construction that cannot be emulated anywhere. You begin as a stranger to your company or crew, but through planning, team building, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, you end as a family. Families care and look out for each other. That is why we are empowered to own and act on safety."

"I was telling a story the other day about a fellow who was fatally injured on a work site. it's a story I have told many times for different reasons; however, the reason for my most recent telling was in an attempt to highlight to a young worker, who had just joined the worksite, the importance of making safety a 'personal' choice. The portion of the story I highlighted was the fatally injured young man's attempt to be safe in the situation and his supervisor over-riding that decision with a comment 'it'll be quick, no need to do any paperwork or get geared up, just go get it" (whatever it was they needed so urgently). I wanted our new worker to know that IF the fatally injured worker had stood his ground with his superior and declined performing the unsafe act, he would still be here. I wanted him to know that in the end, with all the paperwork, the supervision, the rules and regulations, that ultimately - safety resides with each of us. I wanted him to feel empowered to say 'no' if he ever felt the need. That no job is so important that safety has to be ignored or over-ridden. I realized with the telling of the story that while safety does reside with each of us, it is also important as a supervisor or a leader, to allow our workers to feel empowered enough to say 'no' That this empowerment comes from the top. I want to be part of a team and I want to be they type of leader that makes everyone that works with me empowered to speak up and if necessary, speak up twice."

"“NO ONE WORKS FOR ME, WE’RE ALL A TEAM”, and equally as important. I’d much rather be considered a good leader rather than a great boss. I strive every day to ensure that not only everyone has the confidence to make the right decision, but they also know how important they are to me and the success of our safe operations. Reintegrating daily everyone is responsible for safety, specially me, and no matter what everyone has the stop work authority. Also ensuring if something doesn’t look right it probably isn’t. Keeping the line of communication open at all times, remaining approachable, and ensuring they know, I’m never too busy for a conversation, specially about safety. I care deeply that everyone go’s home in a better condition than when they came in, mentally, and physically! We as FLS need to be leaders and teachers, and instill that empowerment in each and everyone we lead, giving them the authority to act on any unsafe situation."

"working with the men and women, day in and out; they become your second family. i don't ever want someone to not be able to return home, versus how they came to work. if others and myself can be more active in our safety culture, then it would reduce the risks that we take to perform our work. its us being held to a higher standard, when those around us become to complacent. i don't ever want to be the one responsible for someone else's injury/death and even worse have to tell their families why their loved one is hurt or no longer present. i have risked my position and probably my employment to make sure that my crew and those around me will not be put in harms way and i would expect others to do the same. if we are going to live by our safety culture, then its something that should relate to our daily lives. we should be examples on and off the clock, irreguardless of whether your on site or in your front lawn."

"Safety is contagious. When co-workers notice that one person is working safely they tend to follow. It’s a culture. Making safe choices often leads to a more efficient work place. “ if you see it you own it…. If you walk by it you condone it “ At the end of the day the most important thing is to go home from our work family to our blood family in one piece and healthy."

"As a creative individual, my passions include guitar playing, painting, and woodworking. However, due to a prior negligent workplace, I've sustained finger amputations that have hindered my ability to fully pursue these passions. This experience has made me acutely aware of the importance of workplace safety, both physical and emotional. With this in mind, I pledge to prioritize safety in our workplace. I'll work to create an environment that values the physical and emotional well-being of each and every team member. I'll make sure that everyone feels safe, respected, and empowered to speak up about any concerns they may have. It's our lives, bodies, dreams and families that are on the line, and a culture that acknowledges that is the only culture I want to be a part of. I invite all of you to join me in this pledge. Let's create a workplace culture that values the health and well-being of each and every team member. By doing so, we can create an environment that encourages creativity, innovation, and growth for all, and that allows us to pursue our passions both inside and outside of work."

"The construction industry has too many potential hazards for a top down model of safety management to be effective. Everyone has to have ownership of the safety program because everyone has a stake in the game and a reason to be safe. To foster ownership you have to empower employees. You have to reward safe actions and speaking up when they see something that isn't right. No one person will see everything that goes on, but every action will be seen by someone. You can't tell someone to be safe, they have to believe it is important and it will make a difference. Everyone is here to make a living and the only thing more important is to be whole and present to live and enjoy life."

"My "why" is Larry Merritt. In my career as a Safety professional, I've only known one employee personally that lost their life on the job and that was Larry. Larry was a maintenance tech performing work between shifts in a manufacturing facility and because someone failed to install a $5.00 LOTO lock on an isolation device, he lost his life. Not long afterward, I had a chance encounter with one of his children. It had been almost 2 years since that loss and, I'm ashamed to say, as a company, we moved on. But from that chance encounter I learned that his family hadn’t and it was at that moment that I fully understood the impact of safety on the job. Although we had lost an employee and for some a friend, his family had lost so much more. So, for almost 20 years I’ve shared Larry’s story and how important safety is. Because I never want to meet another coworker's grieving family member because they were seriously injured on the job or worse."

"Construction sites are dynamic. Actual conditions frequently look different than planned conditions or yesterday's conditions. In addition, there are access-to-work changes, sequence-of-work changes, weather changes, crew make-up changes and ever-evolving methods and materials. It is important that those involved in the planning are empowered to manage risk early to provide the best opportunity for an accident-free work site, but because of dynamic conditions in the field, it is paramount that every individual physically exposed to risk is trained to recognize it and empowered to act on addressing it appropriately. This individual empowerment is the culmination of all of the safety planning, processes, and procedures considered up to that point."

"Save your life"

"I want to make sure that myself, my coworkers, and my supervisors get to go home to their loved ones every day the same way. I know that my safety is in my own hands and that I can make sure that I am doing my job safely and effectively."

"To save lives"

"I love and care for my family. I want them to enjoy a full rich life and I can give them that when I act Safely at work."

"To get home to our families"

"Because safety doesn’t only effect me—-"

"So everyone can go back home to their loved ones."

"It is important to own and act on safety because when people are aware of safety protocols, they can look out for themselves and each other on the field."

"Right is right! Safe is safe no bs. I want to be able to go home to my family period. And if I have to scream, yell, or scold someone else no matter their position so they could go home to their families too, that’s what I would do."

"Safety is our Culture and our Priority!!"

"Family,personal safety the ability to keep everyone working a full career. I good safety record for our company to acquire new jobs and have a good safety record on file."

"Safety is extremely important to me and it is also essential in construction. As a young construction professional, I do everything in my power to make sure everyone on site is adhering to the proper safety protocols. It is very important to me that everyone makes it home safely to their families after a long day of hard work."

"If we don’t take the responsibility to care for others as much as we care about ourselves it makes it difficult for everyone to go home safe."

"We have loved ones that rely on us making it home safe at the end of our work shifts. For this purpose we rely on our experience and training to take care of ourselves, our colleagues, and our environment. Staying safe means we get to go home."

"Being safe means to me that myself and my brothers and sisters are able to go home to their families and love ones."

"For me working safely it is crucial to have everyone going back home to their friends and families at the end of the day. Implementing safe culture and safe behavior at work means increment trust, respect, and communication between each other and create an environment where people feel safe to speak up and work without fear."

"I believe everyone should be empowered to own and act safety by having good practice, values, and cultural."

"The importance of safety in construction cannot be overstated. It is the foundation upon which successful and sustainable construction projects are built. By prioritizing safety, construction companies protect the lives and well-being of workers, ensure project success, comply with legal obligations, enhance reputation, and contribute to sustainable development. Therefore, the construction industry must continue to promote a culture of safety, employing proactive measures to mitigate risks and create safer and healthier construction sites for all."

"It’s important to me that everyone is empowered to own and act on safety for the reasons that it’s our right and you always want to feel safe and confident in your assigned task. If everyone buys into the safety culture and reports anything that looks or feels unsafe then you’re improving the site for yourself and fellow co workers. Safety shouldn’t just be the responsibility of one person but all of ours, be your brother’s keeper and help to protect one another, I really do feel like 1 person can make a difference and that person can very easily be you."

"Every person has their own story and reason for them to strive for a better future, we can take the time to learn a little about the people we see often, but we will never know everyone. I think that it is important to empower everyone because, despite not knowing their story, they have just as much reason to act safely and strive for a better future."

"To go back home the same way we got to work, safe to our families."

"An employee could feel pressured by his/her employer to take on a risk or commit an unsafe act. Employees should be properly trained, orientated, competent and fit for duty and should never be pressured into performing an unsafe act. All employees should be empowered to say no and to have stop work authority."

"If everybody feels empowered to own and act on safety the odds are better that unsafe conditions will be identified and resolved. It is important that every team member from laborer to project manager feels that they can stop work and address safety without concerns for how it will impact project progress, because safety is more important."

"We all have aspirations for our future and dreams of what we want to become. This future is molded by all the actions we take today. Ask yourself: Will an action I take impact that future of a friend, co-worker or teammate? Could I live with myself if I acted in an unsafe manner, or overlooked an unsafe act, which resulted in that person’s future being altered? Our actions-as well as our inactions-affect not only ourselves, but potentially those around us, and being empowered to own and act on safety puts the future of both ourselves and our colleagues well within our control."

"I never compromise safety for my own future and life I want to live as well as for the futures and lives of the people around me. Safety is a group effort and everyone needs to ensure safety for the whole team."

"My voice could be the only thing that allows someone to go home to their family; I don't need any more of a reason than that to speak up and act."

"This is based on a recent incident that took place with another company close to our project. A nighttime paving operation, on a heavily traveled highway, with only traffic barrels separating employees from motorists, a drunk driver entered the work area at 65 mph striking and killing the nightshift paving operation Superintendent before crashing into a piece of equipment. It is everyone's responsibility to look out for each other to not become complacent when working in environments like this. I cannot imagine how upside down the family's world was turned in just seconds."

"What we do is extremely rewarding and its also inherently dangerous every day. You have the moral responsibility to keep your colleagues safe and you can't reap rewards if you are no longer with us. Stay safe and enjoy!!!"

"When everyone takes safety seriously, everyone wins."

"Everyone deserves to go home in the same condition as they arrive EVERY day."

"First and foremost it’s the craft workers place to make sure that they are in a safe work area, then foreman and supers follow up to make sure all available needs to be as safe as possible to make sure all his craft make it home to their families."

"I want everyone to make it home better than they were the day before."

"In 8 years of construction this is the first time that I’ve seen safety taken seriously by keeping each other in line. Championships are won by all 52 men on the roster buying in. If we don’t people don’t go home to their families and if they come back injured out a huge strain on everyone around them. And this is across trades as well because Lee company last year year lost someone because another trade wasn’t doing their job. Slowing down and doing things the right way is the only way to ensure that everyone gets to go home to their families. If you don’t feel safe DONT DO IT!!!"

"It’s important to act on safety because you never know when something bad will happen. There is a reason all these safety rules are passed to prevent more people from being hurt. Life is worth more than being the fastest and best at a jobsite. Everyone wants to go home safe and sound at the end of the day."

"It’s important to me that everyone is empowered to own and act on safety because we have a responsibility to one another to ensure we have a strong culture of safety. This allows our team members the ability to work safely and everyone goes home from work in a much better state than when they arrived to work. They’ve had a great day, accomplished their tasks safely and put out quality product. In addition to that they’ve put a few extra dollars in their pockets. Most of our crew members also look forward to the next day’s work or the next project."

"It’s important to get home to your loved ones and to those who depend upon you"

"In 8 years of construction this is the first time that I’ve seen safety taken seriously by keeping each other in line. Championships are won by all 52 men on the roster buying in. If we don’t people don’t go home to their families and if they come back injured out a huge strain on everyone around them. And this is across trades as well because Lee company last year year lost someone because another trade wasn’t doing their job. Slowing down and doing things the right way is the only way to ensure that everyone gets to go home to their families. If you don’t feel safe DONT DO IT!!!"

"Promoting a culture of safety is essential for establishing a safe and healthy environment. When everyone is empowered to own and act on safety, it creates accountability and a shared responsibility for safety. It encourages individuals to take an active role in identifying and addressing potential hazards or risks, leading to a safer workplace, community, or home. By taking ownership of safety, everyone can contribute to preventing accidents, injuries, or other safety-related incidents, which can have significant consequences."

"So everyone can go home and take care of their families."

"Safety is important to me because I want my coworkers and I to make it home safely to there family."

"I'm a believer in safety because I have a large family of my own. I imagine if something happened to me what would my family do. Also I would feel awful if I witnessed something happen to someone else especially if I could've helped in avoiding the accident. I often tell my team "let's keep us all in check on safety". I'm especially hard on my Forman that if they are not following safety how do they expect their guys to follow safety. I tell them the safety whistle we have on our vest is not for decoration."

"1) Safety is not a job, but a culture 2) Any action or deliverable that any office staff makes has the potential to effect the safety of field staff. 3) You cant have compliance without awareness, and everyone needs to be aware that safety is not just wearing PPE or knowing fall arrest vs fall restraint; safety is an all-encompassing perspective that is rooted in mental/physical and emotional wellness. 4) Most GC's have a zero-tolerance policy for safety. Incidents effect revenue, and revenue loss is the best way to ensure compliance and achieving the real goal of going home safe everyday"

"Your life is important, use the pep ."

"If we all look out for each other. That will make us all safer. The most important thing to me is that everyone makes it home the same way they showed up in the morning. Any injury will effect everyone around you. I will always make safety number one for any task going on."

"EVERYONE NEEDS TO MAKE IT HOME SAFE TO THEIR LOVED ONES."

"So everyone can return home safely to their loved ones"

"Quality of life"

"Because i care about the people i work with and the people waiting for them to come home as they left."

"Everyone should be accountable for their own actions and decisions."

"Each Day it is Important that we all work together safely. We are all trained in safety modules and on the job safety, if we all follow our safety training procedures,it is safer for everyone on the job. We all want to go home each day without injury."

"I wouldn’t want to be the reason why my family mourns me or have other families mourn their loved ones. Period"

"So every person gets to returns home healthy, safe, and happy at end of the day to their loved ones"

"It's important to have a clean and safe site so there are no falls or other injuries, and so we can all go home at the end of the day."

"Because with out safety allot of people would lose their lives or even get hurt saftey makes things safe an everyone goes home safe every one needs to know what saftey is all about it can save your life as well as others"

"It's important to me because I have loved ones dependent on me to come back home to protect provide and love my family"

"So me and everyone else go back home to their family's safe and in one piece!!!"

"Safety means that you get to come home to your family, set an example for your employees, and continue to work the next day, week, month, year. It is not just a thing, but a culture"

"To make it home everyday"

"It's important to me especially for those on our jobsites because I want them to have an environment that makes them feel safe and comfortable coming to work every day."

"We all have families who depends on us to make it back home from work safely"

"In the obvious sense, owning workplace safety is important for its own sake; it helps protect construction professionals from injury or loss of life. But the ability to take accountability and show integrity in situations where workplace safety is violated goes beyond keeping people safe; it shows character. When I see people who are willing to do this, it suggests to me that they are able to do other difficult tasks with integrity. It helps me know I can trust them in all professional circumstances, even if it means standing out in a crowd."

"It is important to act on safety and uphold integrity amongst coworkers despite trade diversity because, many of us have loved ones and families to go home to everyday. Another reason is the product we put out is of the utmost importance. People will be utilizing these facilities and we don't want the buildings falling apart or harming anyone in the future."

"From a preconstruction standpoint, it is important to me that Gilbane's higher than OSHA safety standards are communicated to trade partners with the true meaning behind it. Our standards are set in place as a preventative measure to protect the individual and their loved ones from tragedy. It is imperative standards are communicated and agreed with upfront and throughout the project."

"I’m very invested into safety because my uncle was hurt before In an accident at a job site and made me realize that we need to be more careful with what we do and always check the safety measures in anything we do"

"This insures a safe work environment."

"because wr all have someone counting on us to make it home."

"We are our brothers keeper. It should be the heart of everyone to be aware and to protect those around us. Communication is a must and should be done regularly to prevent any accidents."

"Honestly at the end of the day, we all want to go home to our families and loved ones. Regardless of the environment you are working in, I do believe that we truly care for each other. Just by having that thought we can all strive to care for one another and create a better and safer world for us and the future generation to come."

"We get to go home after work"

"So everyone goes home to their families everyday"

"Our people are our greatest resource! Empowering them to speak up and ensure everyone's safety is vital."

"So everyone goes home to their families."

"It's important to me to improve safety culture because the money I work for isn't worth sacrificing my well-being."

"Safety Equals Love. (Our families & loved ones are important to our existence & purpose.) Safety Equals Life. (We live or die by every decision we make or fail to make. Assure our decisions return us to our families & loved ones each day.) Safety Is Priority. (The most critical decision for each day. How you prioritize safety will directly correspond to your life and the things you love.)"

"We all look out for each other to create a safe environment for everyone."

"I have better things to do than be in the hospital or dead."

"I really don’t want to die because of other’s negligence on safety."

"Everybody on the jobsite is responsible for one another in one way or another. There is no reason why people go home worst off than when the came into work that day. If everybody just takes a moment to think before they act, help when they see someone struggling, and veterans of the trade taking time to train the new guys in the industry, will continue to build and grow and improve. Be your brothers/sisters keeper."

"Practicing safety is a community shared responsibility and is especially important in the world of construction. It's important to me that everyone feel empowered to act on safety because it creates a culture of self and group responsibility. It creates a workplace environment focused on teamwork and cooperation. It helps us return to our families, friends, and communities safely. Education about safety and hazards is key as it empowers those around us to recognize safety issues and know how to effectively communicate them to keep ourselves and others safe. Strong voices lead to safe choices!"

"We always take for granted when everything goes correctly and nothing bad happens, but if we focused on safety first, we can always know that everything will go safely and not have to worry or experience what happens when things go wrong."

"Everyone should get to go home at the end of the day."

"I feel it is important to show our personal commitment to look out for each other so we can work confidently each day knowing we are all working together to arrive home safely each day."

"When you see something unsafe or spot a potential hazard, let someone know asap. You could be saving somebody's life."

"It is important to me that everyone is empowered to own and act on safety, because it ensures not only the safety of those around me, but my own safety as well. If I am able to speak up when i feel it is necessary, then others will feel empowered to do so when they think it is necessary as well. Everyone has a unique perspective, and by working as a team to combine those perspectives, we can ensure a more complete safety for ourselves as individuals and for the greater team."

"Because safety isn't just an individual thing. I believe it takes all of us to ensure not only our own safety but the safety of our whole team."

"We need to work safely to help promote the culture that construction is a good career choice and it can be done in such a way that allows each of us to take care of our families ."

"Because when we are our brothers and sisters keepers we all win. The life you save may be your own!"

"It takes the entire team making safety a top priority to achieve a safe work environment. An individual's safety is always more important than the work being performed."

"Safety is our top priority here at Mortenson!!"

"It takes a village; if all team members are aware that it is their right and responsibility to keep themselves and others safe, then fewer safety issues can fall through the cracks."

"Too many accidents happen to new employees or short term, I pledge to allow all the training needed to bring them the knowledge they need to do thier job. I pledge to give them the stop work authority and stand by it. I pledge to have a mentor assigned to each new employee on my site for the first 30 days."

"So you can go home to your families…aloha"

"It allows people to take accountability, make responsible choices by taking themselves and others in mind, and in turn create a work culture that allows for productivity, passion and purpose. Working safely may get old, but so do those that practice it."

"Safety saves lives. And by utilizing safe practices in hard working situations, the results provide efficient timelines for projects, minimize insurance claims, and above all else, to keep everyone safe."

"I pledge to speak up and make safe choices during Safety Week and every week that follows going forward. Safety is extremely important to everyone around you at work and to all the families that are waiting for their dad or mom to safely make it home from work every single day. Safety Week is a great reminder of the importance of the little things that make a big difference for safety on a daily basis. Together we can all make a difference. "There’s nothing we do that’s worth being injured for” - Rod Rummel."

"Because if your are not safe that puts others in unsafe conditions"

"It is everyone's responsibility to ensure accountability to work safely in a clean, organized and safe environment each and every day and return home in good health, everything else falls in line after safety."

"Safety is a universal desire. Everyone should want to do things safely in life, and especially in the construction industry, because we are "building now, for the future" so our actions today will affect future site users and as a result we as saving people that we will never meet. we should also act safely on our own accord while on the construction site by looking out for ourselves and for others is we experience unsafe working conditions. It takes no time to inform a superintendent of working conditions on their site, and they want to ensure safe conditions are present to."

"In the end we all want to get back home safe and be able to work another day. Everyone should feel empowered to prioritize safety for themselves and others, especially at a company like ours that feels like a family!"

"We owe it to our loved ones and our coworkers' loved ones to take care of each other and mitigate risks so we all go home healthy. Employees should feel empowered to do the right thing and speak up when they see something wrong or someone cutting corners."