At Raymond, we have outstanding employees, so we decided to feature some of them on our blog. Our next Employee Spotlight features Brian Johnson, Area Safety Manager for Raymond’s Northern California region. Brian began with Raymond 6 years ago, and worked as a Project Engineer before transferring to the safety department. Brian assists Raymond’s Director of Safety in the planning, developing, implementing, and supervising of all program elements of Raymond’s Safety Program. His goal, aligned with Raymond’s, is to maintain a safe, healthy, and accident-free work environment for all projects in Northern California.
We sat down with Brian to learn more about him and his time at Raymond.
What brought you into the construction industry? I started in the commercial and residential door industry a little over 20 years ago, which had certain (same and different) aspects of safety and construction.
What do you think is the most important change happening in the construction industry today? In safety specifically, we are seeing new and innovative personal protective equipment (PPE), tools, and equipment to help keep workers even safer. Plus new regulations geared towards awareness and training which ideally will lead to less incidents in the field.
Have there been any recent challenges on any of your projects regarding safety? We’ve had some unique challenges with confined space and cantilevered platforms to reach exterior beams. Our vendors, project teams, general contractors, and field management have worked hand in hand to come up with the correct rescue plans, job hazard analysis, and equipment needed to complete both tasks safely.
How would you describe your career progression at Raymond? Aggressive, steady, and supported.
What’s the best part of your job? Working with a wide range of people on a daily basis. And the teaching/training aspect of safety.
What is the most challenging part of your job? Also working with a wide range of people! Everyone responds to safety differently, from the stocker/scrapper to the accountant. The hard (and fun) part is to really create and maintain a healthy safety culture that speaks to a wide range of people and keeps safety in a positive light.
What do you like doing when you’re not at work? Photography, baseball games, road trips and hanging out with my kids (my son Owen-17 and daughter Abigail-15).
What inspires you? Seeing a well thought out plan, in action, is always inspiring, especially when it’s working. It’s very cool to work on a specific challenge or condition, come up with a plan with the team, and see that plan being performed safely and efficiently in the field by the end user.
What’s one thing you couldn’t live without? My kiddos.
What is something most people are surprised to learn about you? My original vision and goal was to be a US History teacher.
How do you balance your career and your family? It’s always family first, and Raymond supports and preaches that. Trying to keep up with my kids makes it a must to remain active and involved. The love of being a dad, and a huge fan of my kids, makes work/life balance easier.