“Safety is a gift you give yourself and your family each and every day.”

 

Background

Before joining K2 in 2012, Michael was working in a fabrication shop as a metal fabricator when a friend recruited him to come work for K2. Resistant at first because he did not have an interest in electrical, he was told K2 needed someone who did everything else; operate equipment, fix things and in general do everything that was not electrically involved. Within a few weeks he was running a wire pulling crew and three months later was offered the Safety/Shop Foreman position.

Expertise

Over the next 5 years he went back to school and received his OSHA 500 to become an authorized OSHA Outreach Instructor along with becoming an accredited Registered Safety Manager through the International Board of Environmental Health and Safety.

Experience

While working in the construction industry in 1983 for a concrete company Mr. Cameron was witness to a fatality on a project. When the opportunity was given to him by K2 to develop their safety department to the next level, that incident was a driving force for his decision to accept the challenge. “The gentleman lost his life for lack of training. I take pride in knowing that the employees that I train have the skill, the knowledge and the power to make a difference and if something I teach them can save a life, theirs or someone else’s, then it is all worthwhile and I have done my job to the best of my ability.”

Leadership

K2 is a family according to Michael. This works well with his leadership style as he looks to build on that dynamic. Bringing joy, fun and thought-provoking conversations into the mix when doing training or just walking a job site are a few ways he accomplishes that. “The culture is built by the employees; I just give them the tools and the guidance for a strong foundation.”

Future

For Mr. Cameron, the future is all about the culture of safety being developed today. “One of the things I teach all our employees is that I can give them knowledge, I can give them the tools to work safe, I can even give them the power to take action to avoid unsafe conditions but I can’t take safety out of my pocket and give it to them. That is a gift they must give to themselves but more importantly, that is the gift that they can give to their families. The gift of them coming home safe every day.” Employees embodying this attitude will pay dividends for decades.