Carrying a Sentiment of Safety Through California

Carrying a Sentiment of Safety Through California

From the moment ACRT Pacific Senior Supervising Utility Pre-Inspector Kerry Joseph lost his father to a car accident in 1990, safety has been an integral part of how he thinks and operates every day.

When the accident investigation revealed his father was not wearing a seatbelt, Joseph says “from that day on, getting myself and others home at the end of the day became a priority for me.”

Kerry Joseph serves as ACRT Pacific’s lead area safety representative (ASR) and sits on the ACRT Pacific Safety Committee. In these roles, he is responsible for keeping his fellow ASRs engaged in the organization’s overall safety goals and guidance for the year, shares information to relay to employees in the field, and most importantly, strives to get everyone home to their families at the end of each day.

ACRT Pacific ASR members assist in safety communications, safety auditing, identifying at-risk behaviors, near-miss reviews, and incident investigations. Members are safety champions and serve as a conduit between safety management and field employees. They aid in the training and tracking of safety-related items throughout their region and mentor those who need extra help.

Joseph shares, “People are getting home in one piece? That’s the ultimate goal. I know we have important jobs; I know we have production schedules. Work’s a good thing – don’t worry about it, it will still be there tomorrow – get home.”
For Joseph, the sentiment he carries for safety goes back nearly 32 years to that day in 1990.

“When my father died in that car accident, he didn’t get home. It was unexpected. He left the house and the next knock at the door was the California Highway Patrol.”