Staying Safe + Sound: Q&A with Joshua Bullock
The week of August 7th – August 13th is OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week, and the main focus this year is around the topic of mental health and construction.
Gray continues to be a standard-bearer for safety best practices in the construction industry, and prioritizing the safety of our customers and team members is embedded in the company’s core values. We sat down with Joshua Bullock, manager, safety, to learn more about Safe + Sound Week and about his career journey at Gray in this edition of Meet Gray.
Tell me about your career at Gray?
I began my career at Gray as an intern working in the office a couple of days a week while I was attending school at Eastern Kentucky University. Then that grew into a full-time safety technician job. I was promoted to safety manager before eventually becoming the regional safety manager, based in the Charlotte office. Two years ago, I was promoted to manager of safety and moved back to the Lexington office.
Describe your normal workday or your “day in the life.”
I have several projects that fall directly under my responsibility from a safety coordination effort, so I have safety managers and technicians that I collaborate with daily. I also take part in crafting proposals and working on training and development materials for our new team members. Every day is different—I may be on a job site, I may be in the Lexington office, or I may be working from my home office.
What do you enjoy most about working at Gray?
What I most enjoy about working at Gray is being able to serve others. I want to make sure everyone goes home at the end of the day in the same condition they arrived. I’ve seen the effects of injuries on my own family members who have been in the construction industry, and I want to prevent that from happening to others. Being vigilant about safety is how I serve others.
Why do you think it’s important for Gray to be involved in Safe + Sound Week?
Construction can be a dangerous industry, and I think Gray strives to be an industry leader when it comes to safety. This gives us the opportunity to share experiences with other contractors or trade partners who may not have the people-first culture around safety that we are fortunate to have here at Gray.
What do you think sets Gray apart from other service providers in the industry?
I think it’s the family nature of Gray. We’ve grown so much during my time here, but there’s still that personal relationship with the company leaders and your managers. You can tell that they truly care about you and your well–being. Building and cultivating relationships is what sets Gray apart from others in our industry.
What’s been your most memorable experience since joining Gray?
At the first Site Managers Outing I attended, I brought my bass boat to the lake where the event was held. As I’m launching the boat, Stephen Gray walks across the dock and asks me if he can come fishing with me. We were out on the lake talking about the company, our families, and our lives for three hours. The president & CEO spent three hours with someone new to the industry and took the time to get to know me. It was one of the coolest experiences of my professional career.
To learn more about Gray’s people-first safety culture, visit the Gray safety section of our website.
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