I was looking through another old ENR issue, this one from February 25, 2013 and had a different take on the story. The article on the last page entitled “When Words Fall Short” is about safety and communication. Mid-article, Timothy Galarnyk writes, “While steel-toed work boots are not required for all construction professions, it is part of the uniform.” He is stating that the brand image of construction workers includes steel-toed boots.
Before that, he discusses “Just as police officers or firefighters wear a uniform, so our workers’ uniform underlines their status as professionals. Furthermore, the company uniform physically manifests the concept of being a team member and identifying with the team’s goals.” Did you ever think of the Safety team as brand advocates? Most of the time, I hear safety directors working with the marketing team to help with communications, but this is a great example of why marketing is the glue of the company.
You probably have a designated color for your hard hats, safety vests, and jobsite signs, but does your uniform go beyond that? Do you have a safety/brand uniform for your field team?
Furthermore, to be part of the team, you need to dress like field team when you’re visiting a jobsite. When I visit a jobsite, I have my hard hat (black or orange because it’s our brand colors and it stands out for my safety) and my steel toes shoes. Nothing says “I don’t belong here” like a suit on a job site.
