Ulteig Reaches Impressive Safety Milestone

In conjunction with Employee Ownership Month, I am proud to announce an extraordinary safety-related milestone. As of Oct. 11, 2021, the people of Ulteig have worked for over 2 years without a significant occupational employee injury or illness.

What’s even more impressive is that our 800+ employee-owners have worked over 2.5 million labor hours in the office, remotely and in the field during that same time period. In a time of uncertainty, each employee-owner’s commitment to working, living and leading safety at Ulteig made this achievement possible.

This important milestone was also made possible through Ulteig safety policies and programs like Safety Minutes, employee-led safety councils, employee safety training and the THINK SAFETY FIRST campaign elevating personal safety to a top-of-mind concern.

What does safety mean to you? Here are some thoughts from three employee-owners:

Joe Butterfield, Technical Manager-Substation

That’s a huge milestone. My advice on how to keep it going:

• Get awkward, speak up, and remain curious – your family and co-workers depend on you.
• Safety is everyone’s responsibility – at home and work.
• Live, work, and model safety.
• Safety is a mindset, habit and responsibility of everyone.
• To me, safety means being able to enjoy life with my family and friends.

David Wieder, Senior Construction Manager-Civil

When I started in this industry safety was much of an afterthought. So much so, I’m sometimes surprised I’ve survived 36 years playing in traffic. I’m proud to be a member of Ulteig with their incredible safety record. Two years without an injury is unheard of in the construction field. Everyone at Ulteig should be congratulated for living the safety mindset.

In my 15+ years as a safety professional, this remarkable achievement is a first for me. The fact that it happened at an employee-owned company makes it even more special. The challenge before us is to keep this momentum moving through the rest of this year and beyond. Our ultimate goal is for all our employees to go home safely at the end of each and every work day. Let’s celebrate our success, and keep going!

Brenda Koppes, Right-of-Way Specialist II-Field Services

To me, safety for an employee-owned business means not only a safe and healthy workplace that protects us from injury and illness, but it can also lower our injury and illness cost. This in turn puts money back in the employee’s pocket, which increases productivity and morale. 

By Lance Dockter – Safety Manager