HazTek Safety Professional Connie Rogers has been in the construction industry for almost 20 years, starting in this field after her children were grown. Her husband, Mark, traveled 9 months out of the year as a general foreman and assistant superintendent. He worked in the mechanical piping department within the power plant industry and Connie didn’t want to be at home alone. Mark told her that he would help her get her first job, but after that it was up to her.

Connie’s education started with an OSHA 10-hour and an OSHA 30-hour, along with her Emergency Medical Technician training. Her first experience was working in power plants for heavy industrial boiler outages. She started working with the boilermakers because there were no openings in the safety department at the time. Within two weeks, a safety position opened and that was the start of Connie’s safety career.

For the first few years, Connie continued to work with the pipefitters; the tool room; and taking care of payroll, time, accounts payable, and procurement. She learned more each day, while also moving back and forth into her safety roll as the need arose. Connie feels that her experience has given her a better perspective of what working in the field entails, as well as an understanding of the safety needs in the field.

Connie has also worked on projects for paper mills, data centers, Facebook, Apple, and pharmaceuticals. Her break came when she was given the opportunity to become a full-time safety manager for the new construction of a power plant in east Texas. Understanding how important it was for her to keep learning, she obtained her OSHA 510; OSHA 500; her Licensed Safety Professional certificate; and other certifications including scaffolds, silica, CPR, AED, and NFPA 70E. Connie has also earned her CHST and STSC certifications through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and she is now studying for her ASP. Ultimately, she earned her associate degree in environmental health and safety.

“This business of construction has been good to me my whole life,” Connie says. “My dad was a welder in Alaska on an offshore drilling rig and the Alaskan pipeline. Then my husband worked in construction for over forty years. He is now retired, and construction continues to put food on our table as I continue to work in this wonderful world of construction on my own. I am now a Sr. Safety Advisor. I still pinch myself when I think of how far I have come. Hard work really does pay off. I am blessed and highly favored.”

Connie’s advice for women who are considering going into construction safety: “If you’re asking if this business is hard for a woman, I would say yes. But as you grow and continue to educate yourself, you will be better prepared to answer when the call comes to make those important decisions. Always remember to build relationships with the folks working in the field — with that you will receive the respect and trust of those folks you are looking to protect.”

Thank you to Connie for the safety expertise and construction experience that she brings to our organization.

In honor of Women in Construction Week, HazTek is featuring several of our safety professionals who work out in the field.

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) created Women in Construction (WIC) Week to highlight women as a viable component of the construction industry and as an occasion for the thousands of NAWIC members across the country to help raise awareness of the growing role of women in the construction industry and the opportunities available to them.

HazTek LLC is a leading provider of comprehensive safety management services with a mission to enrich the health, safety, and well-being of our employees, our customers, and our communities.

Credit: NAWIC