Safety Week 2025: We All Play an Important Role in Safety
As part of our Safety Week celebration, Senior Vice President National Safety Billy Naylor recently shared insights on the McCarthy Take Pride in Safety program and unique safety culture.
The national Construction Safety Week theme for 2025 is “All In Together - Plan. Own. Commit.” For us to achieve the goals that we want as an industry, it requires all of us to be fully committed to all aspects of safety. The planning, the execution, the commitment…having that all in together approach to hold each other accountable knowing safety is the most important thing we’re going to do every day.
I truly enjoy our employee-partners' excitement around Safety Week. Safety is the most important thing that we do every day and it’s really exciting to see the proactive efforts and originality our project teams and offices take to show our true commitment to the event. This is one week a year the entire industry is driving home the same message and putting the same level of importance on safety. That is something great to see.
There are many things each of us can do to take pride in safety — and we all have an important role to play.
Safety is a mindset and commitment. Whether you’re on a project team or in a group at the office, you have to be sure that everybody understands the commitment level it takes to send everyone home safely to their loved ones and friends.
Getting Back to the Basics
When we talk about “getting back to the basics” in terms of safety, there are some foundational elements involved. The entire construction industry has seen growth over the last 15 years.
When I’m communicating with my industry peers, everyone I talk to has the same common theme — rapid growth and finding people to fill those roles. While we’re asking people to do more, it’s even more important to make sure that everyone is taking the time to learn the proper safety fundamentals.
It’s just like math. If you don’t understand the basic parameters of math early on, every level of math above that gets a lot harder. If you’re a project engineer (PE), make sure you understand a PE’s safety role, so when you get to the next level you’ve already mastered that.
When you have that strong foundation you’ve built upon, that’s going to be what drives a great safety culture. Everyone should be a safety advocate.
We are seeing tangible results across McCarthy by encouraging everyone to be advocates for safety, regardless of role.
One example of this is in our offices. When visitors come to our offices, the first thing they are introduced to is our safety culture. The person at the front desk gives them a card with the fundamentals of our McCarthy Take Pride in Safety Program and the emergency management plan for that office.
When a visitor sees that the front desk person is just as involved in the safety program as a superintendent on a jobsite, that visitor now knows this is a company with a true culture and commitment to safety.
Raise Your Hand. Ask Questions. Share Experiences.
We have created a safety culture where people feel comfortable asking questions – or reporting something that’s unsafe – without retribution. That’s extremely important and something that has evolved over time in our industry.
If anyone on our jobsites or offices feels uncomfortable or feels unsafe, they have a stop-work authority, and we want them to utilize it. They won’t be punished for it; they’ll be celebrated for it. We would much rather someone speak up and be wrong than be silent about a potentially dangerous situation.
Taking Pride in Safety Matters
When an owner is selecting a contractor, safety is going to be at the top of their list. This is a true partnership between the contractor and the owner with both committed to sending everyone home safely. We both want this to be a great experience for everybody on the job – and for everyone to return home safely every day.
We repeatedly hear from clients, our craft workforce and trade partners that McCarthy truly takes pride in safety. Clients appreciate our proactive approach, our willingness to be up front about potential issues, and our commitment as a team to solving problems.
Leading the McCarthy national safety team is one of the greatest honors I’ve had in my life. Thank you all for taking pride in safety every day.
About the Author
Billy oversees McCarthy’s national safety program and has over 30 years of construction experience. Since joining the company in 2006, he has helped lead a cultural shift toward personal ownership in safety, earning multiple industry accolades. He also represents McCarthy with the National Construction Safety Executives.
