Here at UMC, Inc., safety is always top of mind for our team. We’ve worked very hard to build a reputation as a safety-focused company, and we’ve done that with the help of one of our Utah/Idaho safety managers, Ryan Dumont.
Ryan joined UMC earlier this year. He began his career in the military as an aircraft rescue firefighter for seven years. After his time in the military, Ryan transitioned to working as a safety manager at smaller construction firms. It was a natural fit for the veteran. He had developed a passion for helping others, spotting potential hazards, and providing training to help keep others safe on and off the job site.
Despite Ryan’s passion for safety, he was surprised by how prominent UMC’s safety mentality was when he started working with us. As he says, safety is top of mind from the very top of the company all the way to the bottom. After all his years in the industry, Ryan has never encountered a culture like the one we’ve cultivated here at UMC. He attributes our safety record to the core values and ethics UMC has instilled in each employee. Every employee receives training for each piece of equipment they must use down to the smallest hand tool to ensure they know how to protect themselves and others on the job site.
As part of his role as a safety manager, Ryan spends a lot of time on the road traveling between our job sites here in Utah and Idaho. Despite all the travel, Ryan loves to conduct site visits. Typically a site visit starts by reviewing the site’s procedures with the superintendent and general contractors. Then Ryan will review any contractor notices or incidents that may have occurred and coordinate with our partners to ensure that the proper safety precautions are being taken. Then, Ryan will walk the site, look for any identifiable hazards, and observe site conditions. If Ryan sees anything that appears to be a potential hazard, like a height issue or safety protocols not being followed, he immediately gets to fixing the problem, so everyone is safe. Sometimes that means coordinating with the general contractor or other subcontractors to keep everyone in line so that the site is safe for everyone.
It’s not always easy to be the one who checks to make sure that others are following the rules. UMC has high safety standards, and Ryan often leads the way on our job sites and ends up conducting safety inspections for the whole site. That’s one of the reasons Ryan loves the culture of safety here at UMC. He knows that if he points out a potential hazard or issue to a UMC employee, it gets fixed immediately, and everyone does their best to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
At UMC, we all work together to keep everyone safe on the job site, and no one has any problems taking preventative action to avoid an accident or issue. We’re so proud to have a team member like Ryan here at UMC and for all his hard work to keep us all safe on and off the job site. His attitude towards safety is the mentality we believe in cultivating at UMC, Inc.
