Q: What is your official title at Milburn, and what are your typical responsibilities?
A: I’m a foreman. Jobs get set up and handed over to me, and it’s my responsibility to execute. I make sure all the guys are working safely and productively. I lay out what everybody has to do for the day, and I notify the guys about any hazards involved with their tasks and what we can do to prevent incidents.
Throughout the day, I walk around and supervise their work, making sure everything’s clean and safe. I also track what our production numbers are, so we’re not losing money. Basically, we’re given a target number for how many man-days they expect the project to take, and we’re trying to beat that number.
Q: What was your work history before coming to Milburn?
A: I’ve been in this industry since I was 19. Even before that, when I was a child, my dad was in the industry, and I remember going to safety meetings with him when I was younger.
After high school, I was a supervisor and safety guy for another demolition company for over 20 years. I created their safety documents, site inspection forms, incident report forms, and other stuff like that. I’m an authorized OSHA instructor, so I can teach their 30-hour courses. I’ve done a lot of those. After I left that company, I worked for a couple of other demolition companies, doing the same type of work.
I’ve done a lot of demolition. I’ve done everything from gutting out a small office building to wrecking high-rise skyscrapers and bridges. I’ve used wrecking balls and cranes, and I’ve been on jobs where we used explosives.
Q: What do you enjoy about your current job?
A: Whether I’m in the field as a foreman, or in the office as a safety guy, this is what I’ve been doing all my life. There’s nothing like the pride that I have when I finish a job. When everything was done correctly, our people were safe, and somebody on my crew learned something new, that’s what I enjoy about my job.
Q: How is working at Milburn different than other companies you’ve worked for?
A: Milburn has a more modern point-of-view, as opposed to the old-school mentality that so many companies in this industry have. They’re not opposed to new ideas for safety, which is a big deal to me.
When I worked for other companies, they put people in such narrow roles. There is very little room for growth. Milburn has a different mentality, which is similar to my own mentality. If somebody doesn’t know how to do something, we should teach them.
Q: How do you like to spend your free time outside of work?
A: My free time is my family time. I’ve been married since 1999, and I have three kids. Back when I worked such long hours and traveled all over the country, I never had time at home. Today, I’m very involved with my kids’ sports teams. I coached my son’s wrestling team for many years until he got to high school.
I do computer graphics and logo design on the side, mostly for fun. I’ve created websites for our youth wrestling team, and for our football team. I take team pictures for my kids’ baseball and softball teams. I even created a book for the baseball team with pictures and quotes from the kids. One year, I did a poster and a video for the wrestling team. Whatever I can do to help my kids’ teams, I do it.
Meet More of the Team