“I Know A Thing or Two Because I’ve Seen a Thing or Two”: A Q&A with Friede & Associates Director of Safety & Training Brian Gunder
We recently sat down with our Director of Safety & Training Brian Gunder who answered some questions about his efforts to make Friede & Associates a safer place to work for all employees. Brian joined Friede in 2004 as a laborer and he completed his carpentry apprenticeship in 2010. He was promoted to Superintendent in 2018 and became the Director of Safety & Training in 2022. His decades of experience in the construction industry mean he “knows a thing or two because he’s seen a thing or two!”
How did you get started in the construction industry?
I started in the construction industry working for a home and multi-family residential contractor near Sauk City, Wisconsin. I then joined Friede after a couple of years and went through the apprenticeship program for carpentry. After a few years of working alongside some of the senior Superintendents, I became a Superintendent. And that position eventually lead to my current position.
What does a typical day of a Director of Safety & Training look like?
There really is no “typical” day for The Director of Safety and Training! Each day brings new things that need attention. I make a point to visit each job site weekly when time allows, sometimes individual sites need more attention than others. I do safety audits and attend pre-construction meetings, and this is so I can get involved with our subcontractors ahead of the job, so they know our expectations. When things are going well, I also jump in and work with the younger guys on site. This sometimes is a necessity to help keep the job moving and sometimes it’s an opportunity to teach our crew members. I also take care of the equipment we use to be sure it is up to par safety-wise and mechanically.
Why is it important for Friede & Associates to have a dedicated Director of Safety & Training?
It is important that we have a dedicated Safety and Training Director because our schedules and deadlines are constantly getting shorter, and our workforce has gotten younger with many of our veterans retiring in recent years. With the aggressive schedules we face, there needs to be someone to constantly keep safety on the minds of every employee, it’s easy to get complacent when you are in a hurry, and that’s when accidents occur. The other side of this is with the number of young crew members we have, there needs to be someone dedicated to looking out for them, helping them understand the dangers of what we do every day, and to train them on how to use the proper safety equipment and when it is needed.
How have you helped train apprentices and young team members at Friede?
A lot of the training I do with apprentices involves me working with them in the field. Other times though, if we get rained out, they can come to the shop and do training. While this doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, it is one of my favorite things to do. Blueprint reading has been one of the areas I’ve tried to get some guys involved in, and there are several that have shown interest in welding certifications, and I hope to get some guys in and teach them that in the near future.
How has safety training changed in your time in the construction industry?
While the equipment has improved greatly through the years, the safety training really has stayed pretty straightforward. Obviously, there has been a lot of online training added and quite a few changes in OSHA regulations. The training requirements have grown for many different day-to-day tasks that are performed also.
How is your new position different from your previous one?
My new position is similar to my old position in many ways, problem-solving, managing crews, keeping equipment at the ready and etc. Some of the differences are, as a Superintendent I was responsible for one job site, and now I oversee all job sites, instead of making sure The materials are onsite in time to be the building, I now need to interpret what we need to build it safely!
How has your previous career experience prepared you for the Director of Safety & Training position?
My previous years before becoming the Safety Director prepared me for this position in many ways. It’s kinda like the Farmers Insurance guy’s slogan “I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or two!” I’ve done a tremendous amount of safety training through the years, and I’ve also been on many job sites doing many different tasks. I’ve worn just about every hat there is in construction, and I’ve seen a couple of serious injuries happen on-site. This made me want to do this job even more.
What's the most rewarding part of your job?
The easy answer to the most rewarding part of my job is that I get to see everyone go home at the end of the day safely. Every day when I arrive at the shop, I change the “days without a lost time accident sign”, every day that that number doesn’t reset to zero is a reward! But the most rewarding part is when the tough crowd you work with realizes that I’m not here to make their jobs harder and that I just want to make sure they go home to their loved ones at the end of the day. It’s a challenge sometimes to convince them of that, but a challenge I’m up to!
