For the past two years, Nate Splane has represented the Derby Fire Department at our annual safety fair to explain the scope and capabilities of the teams sent out during construction emergencies. His clarity and earnestness have been a high point of the fair, which made it more fitting than surprising to see him hired as Kruse’s new Safety Manager. This week we caught up with Nate to discuss the career that got him here, and his vision for a growing company and maintaining an excellent standard for safety.
Serving as a firefighter for fifteen years, Nate’s three most recent years have involved serving as a lieutenant leading five firemen. Through his time serving Sedgewick County and Derby, Nate saw the cost of carelessness on worksites, and grew fluent in worksite standards. Beyond this, Nate developed a leadership style he looks forward to translating in his new position “I tend to lead from the rear. Let people make their own decisions, trust them, and receive their input.”
Nate’s vision for our safety department revolves around building committees of existing workers to give a voice to real world needs and develop solutions collectively. “I’ll put it on paper, but they’ll have a say on what we do.” Nate believes this will increase buy-in from the workers, redefining safety as an internal effort, rather than an invading force on the jobsite.
To bolster this buy-in, Nate described his leadership style as “rewards oriented rather than punitive. I’d rather lift people up instead of putting them down.” This approach is counterbalanced by competition, a favorite of Nate’s. With a son in football, a daughter in volleyball and soccer, and his own history playing baseball, Nate’s love of friendly competition runs deep.
With these strategies, Nate’s confident that the force that has traditionally been seen as an inconvenience on jobsites can become an exciting and engaging aspect of Kruse’s work culture. No job is big enough to justify unsafe work conditions, and every worker deserves to go home safe and sound every day. It’s Nate’s goal that Kruse can deliver the safety our workers deserve, while also strengthening our already strong work culture in the process.
#safety #workculture #competition #friendlycompetition?
Director of Safety, Mountain West Division, Southland Industries
5 天前Congratulations!!! Well deserved Mike!